President Erdoğan Shares TEKNOFEST Enthusiasm in Şanlıurfa

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan addressed participants at TEKNOFEST 2026 Southeast held at Şanlıurfa GAP Airport. Remembering the workers who lost their lives in the mining collapse in Soma and stating that they will follow the judicial process, Erdoğan shared festival statistics and increases in defense industry exports.

Statement on the Mining Collapse in Soma

In his speech, President Erdoğan commemorated the 5 workers who lost their lives in the mining collapse in Soma, wishing patience to their families and a speedy recovery to the 2 injured workers.

Stating that judicial and administrative investigations regarding the collapse have been launched, Erdoğan emphasized that 9 people, including officials of the mining company, have been detained and those with negligence will be held accountable.

TEKNOFEST 2026 Southeast Statistics

More than 730,000 teams and over 1.6 million contestants from all 81 provinces and 97 countries applied to TEKNOFEST held in Şanlıurfa.

Emphasis on the Century of Turkey and Youth

Stating that the number of visitors at the festival is approaching 1 million, Erdoğan noted that the youth will shoulder Turkey's future and that the Century of Turkey will bear the mark of this generation.

Defense Industry and Export Figures

Stating that there are more than 4,500 companies and over 100,000 employees in the defense industry, Erdoğan conveyed that Turkey is the 11th largest country in the world in defense exports.

He stated that defense exports in the January-August period increased by 16.2 percent compared to the same period of last year, reaching 6.3 billion dollars.