DANIEL LANYON
ISTANBUL – Hürriyet Daily News
Bridget Cosgrave, director general of ‘DigitalEurope,’ a pan- European organization promoting e-business, says Turkey should focus more on developing its infrastructure.
Developing a “Digital Turkey” is essential for the country’s future economic growth and development, according to participants in a conference held in Istanbul on Tuesday.
The conference, organized by “Finans Dünyası” magazine, was titled “Building Tomorrow’s Digital Agenda Today: EU 2020 Digital Agenda and Turkey 2023.” The two dates refer to targets set by the EU and Turkey for a set of economic and social reforms, including enhancing the function of information communication technology, or ICT.
The event brought together policy makers and senior representatives from the ICT industry in Turkey who keenly concurred on the importance of ICT as a driver of economic growth and the need for Turkey to become “more digital.”
“We have to enable our citizens on a digital platform and become an informatics society,” said Professor Hasan Alkaş from the European Commission Directorate-General for Enterprise and Industry, ICT for Competitiveness and Innovation.
Infrastructure development
Bridget Cosgrave, Director General of “DigitalEurope,” a pan- European organization promoting e-business as a method to combat environmental problems and boost growth, urged the development of ICT infrastructure, openness and trust toward the internet, e-skills and more research and development activity.
Turkey currently has 35 million internet users, approximately 45 percent of the population. The EU average is 65.3 percent.
“These figures show we have not achieved our potential,” said Levent Kızıltan, vice chairman of the Turkish Informatics Industry Association, or TÜBİSAD.
The issue of underinvestment in the industry was discussed, as legal obstacles, high taxation, and insufficient R&D budgets were cited as problems blocking Turkey’s digital development.
“Turkey is not considered an ICT country like Israel, Egyp or Ireland. We must show the world it can be,” said Mustafa Çağan, deputy general manager at Microsoft Turkey.
Alkaş emphasized the problems of high taxation and legal obstacles slowing investment. “Investment is critical. We must get rid of anything that hampers investment,” he said.
Transport Minister Binali Yıldırım was also at the event. The minister emphasized the need “for a more simple market structure, openness of priorities and to bring stakeholders together.”
Cosgrave warned against discouraging growth in the software market with an indirect tax of copyright levies. “A better solution is to encourage demand, which will build up business,” she said.