Following the November 1, 2015 elections, the AK Party, which came to power alone, formed the 64th Government under the premiership of Prof. Dr. Ahmet Davutoğlu. While some names from previous terms continued in the new Cabinet, there were also those who joined the Council of Ministers for the first time.
With the formation of the government, attention turned to the Government Program. From the perspective of the real sector, the statements in the program regarding domestic and national production, value-added products, advanced technology, and public procurement were considered important, and each point was emphasized with thick lines.
Turkey concluded 2015 with two general elections. The first, held on June 7, 2015, failed to form a government, leading to a repeat election on November 1. The people, through their democratic will, granted the AK Party the power to govern the country alone.
This year has been quite risky for our country in terms of both domestic and international developments. Within this context, the newly formed government included both experienced individuals and those who were serving in ministerial roles for the first time.
Ahmet Davutoğlu
Prime Minister
Numan Kurtulmuş - Deputy Prime Minister
Mehmet Şimşek - Deputy Prime Minister
Yalçın Akdoğan - Deputy Prime Minister
Tuğrul Türkeş - Deputy Prime Minister
Lütfi Elvan - Deputy Prime Minister
Bekir Bozdağ - Minister of Justice
Sema Ramazanoğlu - Minister of Family and Social Policies
Volkan Bozkır - Minister of European Union Affairs
Süleyman Soylu - Minister of Labor and Social Security
Fatma Güldemet Sarı - Minister of Environment and Urbanization
Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu - Minister of Foreign Affairs
Akif Çağatay Kılıç - Minister of Youth and Sports
Faruk Çelik - Minister of Food, Agriculture and Livestock
Bülent Tüfenkci - Minister of Customs and Trade
Efkan Ala - Minister of Interior
Mahir Ünal - Minister of Culture and Tourism
Naci Ağbal - Minister of Finance
Nabi Avcı - Minister of National Education
İsmet Yılmaz - Minister of National Defence
Veysel Eroğlu - Minister of Forestry and Water Affairs
Mehmet Müezzinoğlu - Minister of Health
Fikri Işık - Minister of Science, Industry and Technology
During his term, significant steps were taken in areas such as support for domestic producers, Organized Industrial Zones (OSBs), and public procurement. It is expected that these efforts will continue and even increase in the new term.
Berat Albayrak - Minister of Energy and Natural Resources
He is among the youngest members of the cabinet. It is believed that, with the dynamism of his youth, he will support national projects in the energy sector and give impetus to domestic industry through his actions.
Binali Yıldırım - Minister of Transport, Maritime Affairs and Communications
One of the most experienced members of the cabinet… His work during his previous terms remains fresh in people's memories. His "bold decision" to introduce a "51% domestic content" requirement for the Ankara Metro was a turning point for industrialists and public procurement. It is believed that he will demonstrate the same reflexes in his actions in the 64th Government.
Cevdet Yılmaz - Minister of Development
In this role, which he has successfully held before, he has proven to be a figure who keeps a close eye on SMEs and producers with his knowledge and experience. The prevailing opinion is that Minister Yılmaz will take development-focused initiatives even further.
Mustafa Elitaş - Minister of Economy
A name with an industrialist background in business life… His roles on the Boards of Directors of Organized Industrial Zones are the most important indicator that he can look at problems and developments from the perspective of SMEs.
The share of high value-added products will increase
The 64th Government's program includes statements on employment, education, industrial policies, skilled workforce, SMEs, public procurement, and national projects. Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu stated that they will increase the share of high value-added products based on advanced technology in the production structure, saying, "In the coming period, with policies that enrich our country, raise its democratic standards, and further enhance its reputation, we will continue to serve our nation with the mandate we received from our people for a stronger Turkey."
"It will be the fundamental task of our government to crown the achievements of the last 13 years with a new era of progress. Our aim is to achieve a much stronger, more prosperous, respected and democratic Turkey, a country that serves as an example in its economy, science and technology, politics, social and cultural policies," he said.
Davutoğlu stated that the 64th Government would be a truly reformist government, and that as a result of these reforms, they would pursue the ideal of achieving a more free, more competitive, and people-oriented Turkey with a more equitable distribution of prosperity. In this context, Ahmet Davutoğlu noted that they would intensify reforms in six key areas, which he listed as follows: 1. Democratization and Justice, 2. Education, 3. Public Administration, 4. Public Finance, 5. Radical Change in the Real Economy, 6. Priority Transformation Programs
THE LEVERAGE POWER OF PUBLIC PROCUREMENT WILL BE UTILIZED
SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION
In the coming period, we will focus on high value-added areas that will provide more momentum to our country's development. We prioritize transforming the manufacturing industry based on innovative and high-tech sectors, strengthening our entrepreneurial capacity, and creating a qualified employment infrastructure for the transformation to a knowledge-based economy.
In the new period, we will strengthen coordination among institutions providing support for increasing R&D and innovation activities and increase the effectiveness of support.
We will support and activate research programs aimed at developing domestic products and technologies in sectors with high external dependence.
We will support design centers like R&D centers, enabling more flexible working arrangements for R&D and design personnel. We will also support order-based R&D and design activities of SMEs.
We will establish a 'Technology Transfer Platform' to publish materials on industrial property and management issues.
We will establish a fund for early-stage entrepreneurship, where the lack of funding is most acutely felt, to support entrepreneurs.
We will ensure that the costs of TSE (Turkish Standards Institution) and patent certificates for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises are covered by the state.
In addition to this program, with our ‘Technology Development and Domestic Production Priority Transformation Program through Public Procurement’, we aim to develop domestic technology and production by leveraging the power of public procurement.
INDUSTRIAL POLICIES
As the 64th Government, we will act with the vision of becoming a country that has an outward-oriented industrial structure, possesses companies that produce high value-added goods based on R&D, innovation, and a skilled workforce, and has become the production center of Eurasia in medium and high-tech products.
The global crisis has once again demonstrated the resilience of countries with strong industries. Countries that invest in productive areas, especially industry, are able to show the necessary flexibility in difficult times and overcome crises with new production methods. Countries where industry is developed are also countries where the workforce is highly skilled and disciplined in doing business. As a country with a rising industry, we will continue to support a strong industrial and production culture in the future.
Aware of the need to take steps towards transformation in the manufacturing industry to increase our country's international competitiveness and its share of world exports, we attach importance to focusing on high-tech sectors.
We see innovation, company skills, inter-sectoral integration, and diversification of foreign markets as the main focuses of transformation in the manufacturing industry.
In the upcoming period, we will improve the capacity of purchasing institutions to manage the public procurement process in a way that develops domestic industry in large-scale and investment-related public procurements. We will focus on disseminating this capacity and best practices.
We will increase the rate at which the public's rail transportation system needs are met from domestic sources.
To increase our global competitiveness, we will strengthen sectoral and inter-sectoral integration. In this context, we will strengthen the integration between the textile, leather, and furniture sectors and the agricultural sector; the machinery, medical device, and electronics sectors and the services sector; and the machinery, medical device, and automotive sectors and the electronics sector.
To increase the rate of domestic procurement of industrial inputs, we will prioritize the production of intermediate goods and industrial raw materials requiring high investment.
We are reducing the input costs for industrialists by lowering the KKDF (Customs Duty and Value Added Tax) rate from 6% to zero for deferred imports of investment goods and intermediate goods.
We will provide more support for high-technology investments. We have included investments in the advanced technology category within the scope of priority investments and will allow them to benefit from 5th region support.
We will restructure our Development Bank with an understanding that will provide more support for high-quality projects needed by our economy.
Our main goals are to ensure the financial sustainability of the quality we have achieved in healthcare and to increase domestic production in the pharmaceutical and medical device sectors. In this context, a significant area of reform is the ‘Structural Transformation Program in Health Industries’. Within the scope of this program, we will transition to a production structure that can produce high value-added products in pharmaceuticals and medical devices, offer products and services to global markets, and meet a larger portion of the domestic pharmaceutical and medical device needs.
We will prioritize domestically produced pharmaceuticals and medical devices in reimbursement and pricing policies and licensing processes.
We will develop our research infrastructure in the fields of biotechnological drugs, biomaterials, and biomedical equipment.
We will develop financial support mechanisms for SMEs that will produce in the healthcare industry. We will increase university-industry collaboration and encourage company clusters in these areas.
In the automotive sector, we will ensure increased added value and the development of environmentally friendly new technologies. We will encourage branding with uniquely designed vehicles to meet the needs of global markets and accelerate efforts to produce domestically branded automobiles.
In the electronics sector, we will consider the possibilities of applying dual-purpose technologies (defense/civil). In the field of electronic communications, we will prioritize the development and production of base stations and control units during the transition to next-generation radio technology.
In the primary metals industry, we will ensure sustainable and secure input supply. In this context, we will increase the weight of high value-added products currently imported into the iron and steel sector, thereby ensuring product diversification.
We will support structures that will increase the added value of our labor-intensive traditional sectors.
In the defense industry, we will continue to support domestic R&D and production. While increasing our country's self-sufficiency in the defense industry, we will also integrate the defense industry with other industrial sectors. TRANSPORTATION AND LOGISTICS
We will develop our national railway industry and manufacture our own railway vehicles, including high-speed trains. With the project for which we are continuing tender preparations, we will put our first national high-speed train into operation.
We will begin the production of national regional aircraft.
We will complete the production of our domestic satellite (Türksat 6A) at our Satellite Systems Integration and Test Center. We will begin the construction of the Türksat 5A satellite.
We will develop our national railway industry and manufacture our own railway vehicles, including high-speed trains ... own national railway industry and manufacture our own railway vehicles, including high-speed trains.
We will develop our own national railway industry and manufacture our own railway vehicles, including high-speed trains.
We will develop our own national railway industry and manufacture our own railway vehicles, including high-speed trains.
We will develop our own national railway industry and manufacture our own railway vehicles, including high-speed trains.
We will develop our own national railway industry and manufacture our own railway vehicles, including high-speed trains.
We will develop our own national railway industry and manufacture our own railway vehicles, including high-speed trains.
We will develop our own national railway industry and manufacture ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND SMEs
Strong entrepreneurs lead to strong companies; strong companies, in turn, lead to a strong economic structure. Our growth strategy is based on entrepreneurship and a dynamic structure led by the private sector. Strengthening the entrepreneurial culture and creating an entrepreneur-friendly ecosystem in a favorable environment created by the public sector is our fundamental policy.
One of our main goals is to increase the competitiveness of our SMEs so that they can contribute more to economic growth. As the 64th Government, we see supporting rapidly growing or growth-potential ventures and innovative SMEs as a crucial requirement for stable economic growth and social development.
We are establishing the Information Valley, which will take Turkey to the next level in the field of innovation.
We will ensure that there is no province in Turkey without an Organized Industrial Zone.
We are continuing our efforts to increase innovative financing opportunities such as venture capital and individual participation capital, and support models for technological entrepreneurship.
We will make regulations to remove obstacles to using movable assets as collateral in order to increase SMEs' access to finance. We will support SMEs in going public; increase the number of SMEs guaranteed by the Credit Guarantee Fund; and expand Venture Capital Funds.
We will continue our low-interest loan program for tradespeople, and will also provide interest-free loan support up to 30,000 TL.
We will not collect taxes calculated on the annual earnings of tradespeople taxed under the simplified tax system up to 8,000 TL.
We will support companies' activities related to industrial design, production preparation, production process, market presentation, and after-sales services. VOCATIONAL TRAINING
We will increase the contribution of the private sector to vocational high schools. We will restructure vocational high schools and vocational colleges through public-private sector cooperation.
We will encourage the employment of vocational and technical high school graduates.
By eliminating the discrepancies between the program names and job descriptions on the diplomas of vocational college graduates, we will make it easier for these students to find jobs in the public and private sectors. We will expand the practice we have initiated of establishing vocational high schools in Organized Industrial Zones.
We will review apprenticeship training and take measures to strengthen its infrastructure.
We will make arrangements for companies to open specialized vocational and technical training schools for their sectors.
We will improve workshop environments in vocational and technical schools and institutions on a sectoral basis. We will develop a vocational and technical education school management model and ensure the participation of local governments and sector representatives.
WORKING LIFE
In the new period, we will reduce the rigidities in working life, which are a significant cause of informality, creating a healthy foundation for the development of employment and increasing the competitiveness of our businesses.
In line with the demands from the sector, National Occupational Standards necessary for the business and education world will be prepared and put into effect, and the current standards will be updated at least every 5 years.
GROWTH AND MACROECONOMIC STABILITY
Our growth strategy is based on five fundamental pillars: strengthening macroeconomic stability, developing human capital and improving the efficiency of the labor market, increasing technology and innovation development capacity, strengthening physical infrastructure, and improving institutional quality.
We will plan our public infrastructure investments in a way that supports the healthy development of production in the economy, but without leading to resource waste. High-quality infrastructure investments made by the public sector will stimulate private sector investments, increasing production capacity and contributing to a productivity-based growth dynamic.
To increase the localization rate, we will support clustering activities that will ensure cooperation and increased added value among businesses in the supply chain.
ENERGY
- We will identify a list of target products that serve as inputs in the energy sector and whose production will provide high added value, and we will support investments in their production. We will increase the share of domestic production of machinery and equipment used in facilities that produce alternative energy sources such as wind, solar, and hydroelectric power.
BALANCE OF PAYMENTS
- We will create mechanisms to increase the competitiveness of domestic machinery manufacturers, primarily by improving the financial environment.
SAVINGS
- In order to increase capacity and efficiency, we will introduce an exemption from Bank and Insurance Transactions Tax (BSMV) for financing machinery and equipment investments in the manufacturing industry.
Notable points:
WE AIM TO DEVELOP DOMESTIC TECHNOLOGY AND PRODUCTION BY UTILIZING THE LEVERAGE POWER OF PUBLIC PROCUREMENT.
WE WILL MANUFACTURE OUR OWN RAILWAY VEHICLES, INCLUDING HIGH-SPEED TRAINS.
WE WILL SUPPORT CLUSTERING ACTIVITIES THAT WILL INCREASE ADDED VALUE.
WE WILL INCREASE THE RATE OF MEETING THE PUBLIC'S RAIL TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM NEEDS FROM DOMESTIC SOURCES.
WE WILL ACT WITH THE VISION OF BECOMING A COUNTRY THAT HAS BECOME EURASIA'S PRODUCTION CENTER FOR MEDIUM AND HIGH-TECHNOLOGY PRODUCTS.
SUSTAINING THE QUALITY WE HAVE ACHIEVED IN HEALTHCARE FINANCIALLY AND INCREASING DOMESTIC PRODUCTION IN THE PHARMACEUTICAL AND MEDICAL DEVICE SECTOR ARE AMONG OUR PRIMARY GOALS.
WE WILL INCREASE THE SHARE OF DOMESTIC PRODUCTION OF MACHINERY AND EQUIPMENT USED IN FACILITIES PRODUCING ALTERNATIVE ENERGY SOURCES SUCH AS WIND, SOLAR, AND HYDROELECTRICITY.
WE WILL CONTINUE TO SUPPORT DOMESTIC R&D AND PRODUCTION IN THE DEFENSE INDUSTRY.
WE WILL CREATE MECHANISMS TO INCREASE THE COMPETITIVENESS OF DOMESTIC MACHINE MANUFACTURERS, PRIMARILY BY IMPROVING THE FINANCIAL ENVIRONMENT.
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