SEPIP 2019, the third in a series of conferences where academic research and decision-making experiences on smart industry policies and economic planning aimed at accelerating economic development and increasing international competitiveness in developing countries were shared, was held at the OSTİM Technical University campus in Ankara.
The event was attended by Deputy Minister of Industry and Technology Mehmet Fatih Kacır, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of OSTİM Technical University Orhan Aydın, and numerous domestic and foreign academics, industrialists, and NGO representatives. The second and third days of the program, which ran from October 15-17, included a Workshop on Applied Industrial Policies.
Organized with the support, cooperation, and contributions of institutions such as the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey, Columbia University, SESRIC, UNCTAD, and TIKA, the event brought together experts in their fields.
“Industrial policies are entering the popular debate”
In his opening speech at SEPIP 2019, Prof. Dr. Murat Yülek, Rector of OSTİM Technical University, noted that industry and industrial policies are increasingly becoming a popular topic of discussion. Yülek stated, “At the beginning of last year, Theresa May, while serving as Prime Minister of the UK, announced an industrial strategy. The UK is a leading country in terms of industrial decline. It is in the process of losing industry in various sectors, and the share of industry in GDP is decreasing. One of Theresa May's first actions was to announce a strategy regarding industrial policies. The German Minister of Industry announced a new industrial strategy in May. In Germany's new industrial strategy, he explained that state-supported companies, which we call 'national champions,' will gain importance, and that Germany does not want to lose its industry.”
Murat Yülek stated that China aims to further increase the share of industry in its GDP with its Vision 2025 localization plan, and added, "The 13th [Industrialization Plan], which came into effect 2 years ago..."
"Starting with the Development Plan, similar policies are being followed. In short, whichever country or continent you look at, industry and industrial policies are increasingly becoming part of the popular debate. SEPIP is also a series of conferences that have been highlighting the need for an academic re-examination of industrial policies and economic planning for the last 4-5 years. Since OSTİM Technical University is an industrial and technology university, it will now host SEPIP," he concluded.
“Clustering is one of the most important tools of industrialization”
Orhan Aydın, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of OSTİM Technical University, underlined the importance and value of industrialization, technology, and regional development. Aydın emphasized that OSTİM has been a region guiding, supporting, and incubating Ankara's industrialization for over 50 years. Chairman Aydın stated, “We closely follow industrialization. We are striving to implement and expand clustering policies, one of the most important tools of industrialization policies followed by the world, locally, in the city, and in the country. Therefore, we believe that with the university's operation in our region within this ecosystem, we can accelerate, develop, and transform this process, thereby contributing to our region, our country, and humanity.”
Domestic, national and original technology for complete independence
Deputy Minister of Industry and Technology Mehmet Fatih Kacır stated that industrial policies have recently become a more prominent topic on the global agenda and are frequently discussed in the international arena. Reminding that industrial policies are crucial for a strong Turkish economy, the Deputy Minister continued: “One of our most important priorities is to replicate the success story of our defense industry in other areas of industry and technology. We do not view industrial policies as independent from science, technology, innovation, and R&D policies. Therefore, we address all the policies we pursue within this framework in coordination.”
Mehmet Fatih Kacır stated that the National Technology Initiative framework has two main pillars, and shared the following details: “Firstly, to build an industry that produces high added value. To participate in global competition with products possessing advanced technology. Secondly, to develop and produce technological products domestically, nationally, and originally, which is essential for complete independence. When we talk about critical, strategic products for our complete independence, the defense industry comes to mind first. However, in today's world, complete independence in technology is not possible only by localizing and nationalizing certain critical products in the defense industry. For complete independence in technology, we must develop and produce critical components and products domestically and nationally in financial technologies, energy technologies, health technologies, and all verticals of technology. Therefore, our biggest priority in the coming period will be identifying these products and developing and producing them domestically and nationally in Turkey.”
"We have goals for the 100th anniversary of our Republic," said Kacır, adding, "At the forefront of our national goals, both mentioned in the 11th Development Plan and enriched with new additions in the Industry and Technology Strategy, is increasing the share of value added produced by the manufacturing industry in GDP. Looking at the last 10-year period, we see that the average share of value added produced by the manufacturing industry in GDP is 16.5 percent. Although this was approximately 19 percent in 2018, we see that this rate has been around 17 percent in the Turkish economy over the last 10-15 years. Our most important goal is to raise this to 21 percent by 2023."
“Public procurement is a significant leverage in industrialization”
Kacır explained that in the coming period they will focus on the machinery, electronics, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, and transportation sectors, and will implement holistic policies ranging from R&D to investment, production, and export by conducting product-based studies in these sectors.
Mehmet Fatih Kacır stated that public procurement is a very important leverage in the industrialization processes of countries, and that they are preparing some innovative steps in this direction. He added that they will conduct medium and long-term needs analyses in public procurement with the planned Industrialization Executive Board.
Kacır stated, “We will identify our domestic production potentials in a way that aligns with public needs, create specification pools, and ensure localization, particularly in large-scale areas, through the integration of public procurement. Both the central government and municipalities will invest billions of dollars in rail systems over the next 10 years. We hope that if we can plan public procurement in this area and many similar areas within a common framework, we can seize a significant opportunity for localization.”
Conference Sessions
Following the speeches, the conferences began. In the first session of SEPIP, Professor Dr. Eric Venhoogen from Columbia University in the USA gave a presentation on the topic of 'Technological Development and Industrial Development'.
The second session was moderated by Mehmet Fatih Kacır, Deputy Minister of Industry and Technology of the Republic of Turkey. In the session titled ‘Industrial Policies and the Effectiveness of Technological Diffusion’, Dr. Kenan Bağcı from the Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC), Prof. Dr. Mustafa Erdoğdu from Marmara University, and Dr. Mete Han Yağmur from Istanbul Technical University spoke.
The third session was titled ‘Development Plans, Industrial Policies and Sustainable Development Tools’. Moderated by Prof. Dr. Murat Yülek, the session featured Çağatay Emrah Öngüt and Arzu Önsal from the Presidency of the Republic of Turkey's Strategy and Budget Directorate as speakers.
In the fourth session, Prof. Dr. Johannes Wissema from Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands, known worldwide for its concept of entrepreneurial universities, gave a presentation on the topic of Entrepreneurial Universities, Innovation, and Industry.
The final session of the conference was held under the title ‘Industrial Policies and the World Economy: Current Challenges’. The session was moderated by Ziya Altunyaldız, Member of the Turkish Grand National Assembly's European Union Harmonization Committee and Member of Parliament for Konya. Prof. Dr. Ali Akkemik from Yamaguchi University, Japan; Economist Assoc. Prof. Dr. Seyit Mümin Cilasun from the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey; Assoc. Prof. Dr. Fatih Cemil Özbuğday from Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University; and Dr. Piergiuseppe Fortunato from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in Switzerland shared their views.
At SEPIP 2019, Prof. Dr. Ali Akkemik also presented his book, "The Economic and Social History of Japan," the first Turkish-language source on Japan's development and social history.
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