Following the launch of Yandex's new artificial intelligence-powered search engine “Yazeka,” Presidential Investment Office Vice Chairman Bekir Polat assessed the company's contributions to the digital ecosystem and Turkey's international investment goals.
Drawing attention to Turkey's digital and green transformation goals, Polat recalled that Turkey has reached a gross domestic product of $1.2 trillion by the end of 2023 and aims to be among the top ten largest economies in the world, emphasizing the importance of digitalization and technology-oriented investments to achieve this goal.
Pointing out that Turkey has a young, educated and dynamic population, Polat said: “We believe that this is one of the greatest added values of our country. It enables Yandex's other products to reach other markets by leveraging its technical prowess and young, dynamic, well-trained workforce.” “As the Presidential Investment Office, we are ready to support Yandex to attract new investments in our country with its investments in various industries such as cloud technology, data centers and taxi applications,” he said.
“There are international investors who are committed to the investment environment in Turkey in the long term.”
Polat emphasized that Yandex's localization of its new generation artificial intelligence search engine service and other digital services will have a positive impact on the competitive environment and technology ecosystem in the country and increase quality, saying that the company is making new investments in other services operating in its ecosystem is supported by the Presidential Investment Office.
Polat said: “It is extremely important for companies like Yandex to leverage Turkey's technical capabilities and develop new technologies by conducting research and development in cloud technology and data center investments in Turkey. The technology areas that Yandex is focusing on are crucial investments that will support Türkiye's digital ecosystem.” he said.
Polat explained that Turkey, with its competitive investment environment, continues to be a safe haven for long-term investors, although global economic balances are constantly in turmoil due to factors such as epidemics and war.
“Turkey has a history”
Pointing out that macro balance sheets can change very quickly, Polat continued:
“After the epidemic, disruptions in the supply chain, the emergence of trade protection measures, or some regional conflicts and tensions may affect investors. However, direct investments are investments with much longer-term prospects. If we look at the 100-year history of the Republic of Turkey, international companies that have been investing and carrying out activities in our country for 100 years “Turkey has a history of international direct investment that came to our country even before the Republic and its activities still always continue.”
Polat pointed out that Turkey has become one of Europe's most important suppliers of digital and green transformation in the post-epidemic period, saying that thanks to the pandemic, Turkey is able to provide 1.3 billion people with access to one He emphasized that the 30 trillion dollar economy should be created with a customs union and free trade agreement.
Polat emphasized that investments from Europe, North America and the Far East have increased: “While in 2002 there were a total of 5,600 companies with international capital, today that number is over 82,000. Before 2002, the average was 1 billion.” Over the past 20 years, there have been $13 billion in investments annually. According to the results of the European Country Attraction Survey 2024, Turkey ranks 7th to 4th in greenfield investments after France, England and Germany. “It’s gone up,” he said.
“Many international companies began to use Turkey as a location for research and development.”
Recalling that green and digital transformation are two important priorities of the international direct investment strategy between 2024 and 2028, Polat said: “The Turkish economy, which has achieved an average growth of 5.4 percent over the last 20 years, its young and dynamic population.” “Many international companies have now started to use Turkey as a regional location for research and development,” he said.
Stating that as the Presidential Investment Office, they support investors in the implementation of their projects in a way that facilitates and accelerates their investment experiences in coordination with other public institutions, Polat said: “This support does not end after the investment is completed. In fact, a large part of the investment is made up of expansion investments by existing investors. That's why we are in constant communication with investors. This process covers all phases from initial contact to factory opening,” he said.
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