Two Council Members Who Resigned from CHP Joined AK Party, Their Badges from Kacır

Minister of Industry and Technology Mehmet Fatih Kacır arrived in Zonguldak to hold a series of contacts and participate in party activities. Visiting tradesmen in the Kilimli district and meeting with citizens, Minister Kacır later attended the AK Party Zonguldak Consultative Council Meeting. During a ceremony held within the scope of this visit, AK Party badges were pinned personally by Minister Kacır to two members of the Provincial General Council who had previously resigned from CHP. This event was recorded as a significant development in terms of changing party preferences in local politics. At the same time, Minister Kacır's visit accelerated the government's organizational efforts in the region.

Speaking at the consultative council meeting, Minister Kacır drew attention to the AK Party's 25-year political vision and its march under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. He stated that as a party, they will celebrate their 25th anniversary in Ağustos and that they will collectively embrace the achievements of the quarter-century they left behind. Kacır emphasized that they continue to progress towards the same goal without deviating onto side paths in this process. Furthermore, he highlighted that Turkey has re-emerged on the stage of history by embracing its historical mission and noble heritage from the past. Throughout his speech, he strongly expressed his belief in the heart of the nation and the future of the country.

Minister Kacır detailed Turkey's tremendous production and export moves over the last twenty-three years with figures. He stated that during the twenty-three years before their governance, exports could only remain at 36 billion dollars, but in their term, this figure reached 278 billion dollars. He emphasized that Turkey has ceased to be a country producing only low-tech products and has now become a power exporting high value-added and high-tech products to the world. He argued that this production revolution is a critical threshold for the future of the economy and industry. Explaining that the path to political independence goes through economic and therefore technological independence, he discussed the importance of investments made in technology.

Kacır also touched upon Turkey's achievements in the defense industry and revealed the magnitude of this success by making comparisons with European countries. He stated that Europe is still 80 percent dependent on foreign sources in its defense industry, whereas Turkey reversed this ratio, raising the share of domestic and national products to over 80 percent. Noting that this issue, which is also debated in NATO meetings, he said the world has now accepted Turkey as the rising power in the defense industry. He expressed that an aviation sector, whose name was not even mentioned in Turkey in the past, has today surpassed its competitors on a global scale. He proudly added that during this process, end-to-end mastery of technology has also been achieved in maritime, land, cyber, and satellite systems.

Reminding that these successes in the defense industry were not easily achieved and were won by struggling against open and covert embargoes, Kacır also touched upon an emotional point. He stated that during the years of combating terrorism, while some countries considered allies supported terrorist organizations, they did not provide Turkey with the defense systems it requested with its own money. He said these obstructions and betrayals accelerated the development of Turkish engineering and domestic production, maturing and strengthening the country. He proudly emphasized that every piece, from core technology to the smallest component, is now produced by the country's own children. The Minister expressed satisfaction that, despite all the challenges, the country has become a global power by standing on its own two feet.