Istanbul: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday announced Trkiye's new AI Action Plan at the Trkiye Artificial Intelligence Summit in Istanbul, outlining a 2026-2030 roadmap to boost the country's digital capacity.

According to Emirates News Agency, Trkiye will mobilise at least $10 billion in mainly private-sector investment for data centres, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure under the new plan, Erdogan said. Speaking at the Trkiye Artificial Intelligence Summit in Istanbul, Erdogan said the country aims to increase its installed data centre capacity to at least 1 gigawatt by 2030.

He said at least 2% of public investment programs will be allocated to artificial intelligence projects, emphasizing that political, military, and economic power can no longer be considered separately from digital sovereignty. The digital capacity, he added, has become a force multiplier.

Erdogan stated that the action plan aims to carry Trkiye into the league of leading countries in artificial intelligence technologies. The AI Action Plan is built on four main pillars - 'discover, benefit, produce and govern' - with four complementary actions under each pillar.

Under the new action plan, Trkiye will train 10,000 advanced AI specialists and 100,000 AI application professionals. The plan will also create a regulatory framework that protects users' rights and provides predictability for investors, based on a proportional and risk-based approach.

The president further added that AI literacy workshops will be launched in all 81 provinces, with the goal of providing training to 5 million citizens within two years. "We will launch the National Artificial Intelligence Literacy Programme to ensure that people of all ages understand artificial intelligence correctly and use it safely," Erdogan said.