Today's Edition
Ahmed Murad (Cairo) - A hundred years ago, on October 29, 1923, the Republic of Türkiye was founded at the crossroads between Europe and Asia. Over the past 10 decades, Türkiye has witnessed many important transformations at the political, economic, and social levels.
Over the past century, the Republic of Türkiye has succeeded in building a strong economy, establishing advanced infrastructure, and creating a modern transportation network. This progress embodies a revolution in urban development, urban transformation, and economic openness to the world, which allowed the country to take up its modern-day prestigious global position.
Türkiye has passed important milestones in the past hundred years, most notably obtaining membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in 1952. It now has the second-largest army in terms of personnel among the alliance’s countries, after the US. In 2002, the Justice and Development Party won the country’s legislative elections and obtained a parliamentary majority, bringing Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, one of the party’s founders, to the Prime Ministry in 2003.
Afterward, Erdoğan assumed the Presidency with Türkiye’s transition from the parliamentary system to the presidential system in 2017. In the first ten years of Erdoğan’s rule, Türkiye joined the Group of Twenty (G20), which includes the largest economies in the world.
In 2013, Türkiye’s GDP reached about $1.1 trillion. Erdoğan sought to modernise his country by building airports, roads, bridges, hospitals, and hundreds of thousands of homes, in addition to increasing agricultural and industrial production and free trade by providing a suitable climate for investors and increasing the number of companies.
In the industrial sector, Türkiye achieved a significant industrial breakthrough, manufacturing its first armoured tank, first air carrier, first drone, first modern satellite, and first electric car. In the education sector, 125 universities and 198 schools were built, and the education budget was raised from 7.5 billion liras to 147 billion liras. Beyond its borders, the Turkish Education Foundation provided support to more than 43 countries in the field of education.
In the health sector, 510 hospitals were built, the number of beds in hospitals increased from 164,000 to 253,000. In the agricultural sector, Türkiye achieved complete self-sufficiency, and agricultural production revenues increased to 333 billion liras, and recently, the value of the country’s agricultural exports exceeded $20 billion.
The Next 100 Years
As Türkiye celebrates the centenary of its establishment, it inaugurates a new stage a new century of ambitions, embodied in the recently introduced “Türkiye’s Centenary in the Second Century of the Republic” vision, which includes 16 diverse principles. The first principle is the “Centenary of Sustainability”, which includes Türkiye’s plan for self-sufficiency by economically supporting projects through environmental conservation, economic development, and social integration.
The second principle is the “Centenary of Stability”, which includes combating economic fluctuations and the movement of refugees, where Türkiye will work for welfare and stability in the country. The third principle is the “Centenary of Development”, which includes investment plans.
The fourth principle is the “Centenary of Values”, which deals with preserving and maintaining cultural and social values. The fifth principle relates to the “Centenary of Strength”, which includes providing support and to sovereign sectors such as health, industry, education, and technology.
The sixth principle is termed the “Centenary of Success”, which means taking into account national interests and international principles and balances, and focusing on stability in a difficult region of the world, which is linked to the seventh principle, the “Centenary of Peace”, where Türkiye will work to bring about peace, both in the field and at the negotiation table.
The eighth principle is the “Centenary of Science”, which includes academic and scientific support and strengthening creativity in the public and private sectors. The ninth principle is the “Centenary of the Right Holders”, based on the principle of the right to justice, human rights, and respect. The tenth principle is the “Centenary of Efficiency”, which deals with enhancing the elements of production efficiency: human capital, time, environment, and productivity. The eleventh principle is the “Centenary of Stability”, which is achieved through the stability of strength and moving towards victory.
The twelfth principle is the “Centenary of Love”, based on respect and love for every being in Türkiye. The thirteenth principle is the “Centenary of Communication”, which aims to enhance security and international communication. The fourteenth principle is known as the “Centenary of Digitalisation”, which seeks to elevate and utilise all technical and digital potential for the betterment of humanity, science, and information.
The fifteenth principle is known as the “Centenary of Production”, which targets industrial production through development and environmental preservation. The last principle, the “Centennial of the Future” focuses on sweeping development projects, including the Istanbul Canal. The Canal is the largest project in Türkiye’s history, and will connect the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara, with a length of 45km to 50km.
This principle also encompasses the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant project, through which Türkiye aims to be one of the world’s largest producers of nuclear energy. Nearly 90% of the work is completed on the project, which has an expected capacity of 4800 megawatts, contributing significantly to reducing Türkiye’s dependence on energy imports.
Within the framework of the new centennial projects, Türkiye plans to deliver three smart cities: Sakarya in the Marmara region, Kayseri in the heart of Anatolia, and Gaziantep in the southeast. Türkiye aims to be among the top 10 economies in the world, with a GDP of $2 trillion, a per capita income of $25,000, and an unemployment rate of less than 5%.
Türkiye also plans to activate foreign trade, with ambitions to reach $1 trillion annually. Through its new centennial vision, Türkiye plans to increase its exports to $500 billion annually, switch to wind energy as a new alternative, increase its geothermal energy capacity to an average of 600 megawatts, and reduce its energy consumption by 20% compared to 2010 levels by improving efficiency.
According to the new centennial vision, Türkiye aims to be the fifth-largest tourist destination in the world, attracting more than 60 million visitors annually and generating more than $50 billion in tourism revenue. There are also plans to build 11,000 kilometres of new railways, expand the high-speed train network, complete 15,000km of dual carriageways, and elevate Turkish ports to be among the top 10 in the world.
