Türkiye eyes closer US ties in AI, data centers

NEW YORK

Türkiye plans to deepen cooperation with the United States in critical technologies, including artificial intelligence and data centers, Industry and Technology Minister Mehmet Fatih Kacır said.

Speaking at the fourth Turkish-American Business Meeting, organized by business association ASKON during U.N. General Assembly week in New York, Kacır said dialogue between President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and U.S. President Donald Trump had opened opportunities for cooperation in strategic sectors.

Bilateral trade had doubled over the past decade, he said.

“But we need to work much harder to reach the $100 billion target we set together,” Kacır said.

He said meetings with U.S. business leaders had focused on Türkiye’s investment, technology and research opportunities, with American companies invited to invest and develop partnerships in the country.

Kacır said more than 13,000 technology firms operated in Türkiye’s 115 technoparks.

The country also had more than 1,700 research, development and design centers and over 310,000 research and development personnel.

He put annual exports at more than $280 billion, including $116 billion in medium-high- and high-technology products.

On defense, Kacır said Türkiye aimed to become one of the world’s 10 largest defense exporters in 2027.

Domestically developed and produced systems met more than 80 percent of the country’s defense needs, he said.

He also pledged to complete the Steel Dome air defense system and increase the speed and range of Turkish rockets and missiles.