21.02.2016 Ankara
TOBB President M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that the R&D Reform Package which became law last week will provide great support for Turkey’s technological leap, “This package is an important step in transitioning from talking about innovation to innovating.”
TOBB President M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that the R&D Reform
Package which will enter into effect on March 1st 2016 will bring
various benefits to the economy. Pointing out that this is an important
indicator of the government’s dedication to comprehensive economic reform,
Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “This determination is the most powerful force which
enables the Turkish business community to focus on our work despite the
increasing geopolitical risks of the region.”
Stating that the Turkish economy has undergone an important change in
the last 10-15 years, the TOBB President said, “We were a 3,000 USD per capita
income country, this increased to 10,000 USD. Our goal now is to reach 25,000.
For that Turkey needs a technological leap. We must transition from talking
about innovation to innovating. Science, Industry and Technology Minister Fikri
Işık is following these issues closely. To this end, they’ve prepared a
comprehensive package to suit our needs. We thank everyone who contributed to
it all the way up to the President of the Republic. I am convinced that this
reform package will be an important step in transitioning from talking about
innovation to innovating.”
Hisarcıklıoğlu expressed happiness in the fact that design activity has
been added to the list of R&D incentives; support for R&D centers have
been facilitated and increased; mechanisms to enable SMEs to make use of
R&D support; techno-enterprise capital support aimed at young entrepreneurs
have been increased which were requested by the private sector for years.