Mustafa Varank

Turkey will become a producer of critical technologies, instead of a consumer, Turkey's industry and technology minister said on May 19. 

Mustafa Varank said Turkey will not be a market for technological products but a production base for the world.

The amount of total exports from Turkey's 87 Technology Development Zones has reached $5.8 billion in 21 years, according to data by the Industry and Technology Ministry.

More than 6,500 companies, including 322 firms with foreign capital, have been operating in these zones as of the end of April, data showed.

Industry and Technology Minister Mustafa Varank has volunteered to take part in the phase 1 human trial of a vaccine candidate against COVID-19 that is being developed at Ankara Oncology Hospital.

Varank received the first shot of the vaccine based on virus-like particles' technology.

Turkey has successfully passed the first test of its indigenous engine to be used in a rocket that will be sent to the Moon in 2023.

"We, as a country, have a mission to the Moon, and I think we will succeed the first leg of our long mission in 2023," said Mustafa Varank, the minister of industry and technology, on April 11.

Turkey has successfully tested its first hybrid engine that will be used in the Moon Mission, the country's technology and industry minister said on April 11.

Mustafa Varank received information about the system in the Şile district of Istanbul.

Turkish scientists working with nanotechnology firm Nanografi are developing the country's first intranasal COVID-19 vaccine, the industry and technology minister said on March 30. 

Speaking at the opening ceremony of Nanografi's new graphene production plant in the capital Ankara, Mustafa Varank said the nasal spray is expected to be more effective.

Turkish scientists working with nanotechnology firm Nanografi are developing the country's first intranasal COVID-19 vaccine, the industry and technology minister said on March 20.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of Nanografi's new graphene production plant in the capital Ankara, Mustafa Varank said the nasal spray was expected to be more effective.

Turkey is following future technologies closely, with roadmaps for areas such as artificial intelligence, health, and 5G now ready, the industry and technology minister said on March 25. 

Turkey's Mergabütan Plateau has been transformed into a ski resort that has become a favorite of both local and foreign tourists, Turkey's industry and technology minister said on March 14.

"This is not the Alps, it is the Hakkari Mergabütan Ski Center!" Mustafa Varank wrote on Twitter.

"We identify and support investments that best suit the potential of cities," he added.

Turkey's industrial sector over the last year provided 337,000 additional jobs, the country's industry and technology minister said on March 12. 

With the momentum seen in investment figures and electricity consumption in industrial zones, Turkey had a strong start to 2021, said Mustafa Varank, speaking to a virtual Chemistry Sector Council Meeting.