Second 100-day action plan centers on production of high value-added goods

AFTER the announcement of the first 100-day action plan, the government has initiated work on the second plan under the coordination of Vice President Fuat Oktay. The second action plan, which President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is scheduled to announce very soon, will feature steps to boost projects for a more production-based economy as well as service-oriented projects. The action plan will include projects that aim to achieve the production of high value-added goods in addition to a series of initiatives that will bring more convenience to citizens’ lives, Oktay explained. “The first 100-day plan aimed to complete the transition period to the new presidential governance system and design the future,” the vice president said in an interview with Turkish daily Habertürk.

COUNTINUED FROM PAGE ONE“THE FIRST 100-day plan aimed to complete the transition period to the new presidential governance system and design the future,” Vice President Oktay said in an interview with Turkish daily Habertürk.

While the first plan projected a fiveyear period for Turkey, the second one includes a more detailed program and new projects. The ministers will outline a 20-year plan for Turkey. “The second 100-day plan is oriented toward production and service,” Oktay noted.

In a broad assessment of the Turkish defense sector, the vice president stressed that the projects will continue in the upcoming period to broaden the local development and production of defense products. Referring to the momentum achieved in engine development projects for helicopters, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) and ongoing helicopter projects, Oktay said the opportunities facilitated by the Defense Industry Fund and the Presidency of Defense Industries will further unleash the projects in the upcoming period, expanding public-private partnership in the sector.

A more crucial feature of the second action plan is the initiative to transfer the experience and know-how accumulated in the defense industry to other sectors, primarily health.

In addition to defense, the second action plan will also include investments in the health sector, particularly launching projects for the local production of medi- cal imaging devices for which Turkey relies heavily on imported goods. The health investment projects, Oktay said, will also introduce a new financing model.

In a bid to decrease the current account deficit and import dependency for the supply of intermediate goods, the government support projects will achieve domestic production of these goods. To that end, the second 100-day plan will promote a new investment incentive model that will reduce the share of imported products by domestically manufacturing them. “We will also follow up how effectively and efficiently the incentives are used for the investments,” the vice president said.

“We need to make Turkey an energy hub and receive more petrochemical investments to produce energy derivatives,” Oktay added, drawing attention to the need for producing high value-added products in the energy industry.

The government is also aiming to achieve a broader digital transformation of governance. The e-Devlet (e-Government) platform on which Turkish citizens can carry out numerous bureaucratic processes has been recently updated. According to Oktay, Turkish citizens will be able to observe this digital transformation more easily during the local elections due to be held on March 31.

“With digital transformation, we aim to make the lives of citizens more convenient, relieving them of tiresome bureaucratic processes at different state institutions” Oktay concluded.