The second edition of Turkey-Italy Innovation Day, an event focused on economic cooperation between Italy and Turkey, was held on November 9 in Ankara. The event was organized by Turkey’s Scientific and Technological Research Council (TÜBİTAK) together with the Embassy of Italy in Ankara.
The first edition, organized in 2019 in collaboration with the Italian National Research Council (CNR), was held with the aim of strengthening the bilateral partnership and sharing knowledge between the two countries in the field of innovation and technology, focusing on the space, automotive and defence industries.
Green transition and digitalization were at the center of this year’s event, as Italian Undersecretary of State for Foreign Affairs Manlio Di Stefano said at the opening ceremony.
“Renewable energy and energy efficiency, digitalisation, intelligent mobility and smart cities, big data, and artificial intelligence are the sectors of the future that require greater investment and better synergies in the field of research, as well as financing and incentives in industrial applications. All of which also means creating the climate that is favourable for start-ups, so that human creativity can find the best conditions for inventing the future”, commented Undersecretary Di Stefano.
Talking about the cooperation between the two countries, Di Stefano highlighted that “our economic relations are based on strong industrial interdependence”. Di Stefano laid out theobjectives of cooperation on the green transition, including increased investment in technologies with a low impact on the environment, the promotion of new development models for reducing emissions and collaboration in the field of renewable energy, especially in the hydroelectric sector.
Cooperation with Italy on these issues is in line with Turkey’s goal of reaching zero emissions by 2053, said Hasan Mandal, president of Tubitak. The tie between the two countries is also shown by the presence in Turkey of approximately 1,500 Italian companies, said Turkish Deputy Industry Minister Mehmet Fatih Kacir, mentioning “an economic exchange of 22 billion dollars in the last 12 months” and “three billion dollars of direct investment in Turkey by Italy”.
Tueday’s event was a “tangible sign of the ties between Turkey and Italy in every sector” said Italian Ambassador to Turkey Massimo Gaiani. Gaiani said the goal is to create “a bilateral platform of permanent cooperation between our two countries”.
