Türkiye’s AK Party sets out vision for country’s future

The ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) marked its 25th anniversary on Friday. In power for more than two decades, the party looks forward to more feats under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

During the celebrations marking the anniversary, the party also rolled out a “vision paper.” The paper summarizes a strategy for growth and development across 10 chapters.

Comprehensive goals were laid out under headings covering a leading country in the global system, a high-tech and high value-added economy, national technology and digital sovereignty, a predictable legal system, a human-centric state, a strong family and prosperous society, women’s role in the “Century of Türkiye,” youth as architects of the future, green transformation, and Türkiye on the threshold of its second quarter-century. Erdoğan had earlier announced similar goals for what he called the “Century of Türkiye” vision, in reference to the centenary of the Republic of Türkiye in 2023.

In the first chapter, the document aims for Türkiye to transcend being merely a regional actor and become a global leader that inspires trust, builds partnerships, and shapes the international order. Key elements include an order-building foreign policy, a resilient security ecosystem, energy security, strategic production and a terror-free region.

Regarding economic growth, the focus centers on high-value-added production across industry, agriculture, and energy. Domestic production in the defense industry has expanded significantly, while agriculture emphasizes food security and farmer welfare. In health care, the target moves toward manufacturing health technologies, pharmaceuticals, and vaccines. For energy, goals include expanding renewables, diversifying through nuclear power and small modular reactors, and manufacturing solar, wind, and battery assets domestically.

Digital sovereignty initiatives emphasize artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and technological independence, ensuring technology serves the public good while addressing data protection, digital addiction, and cyberbullying under the Cyber Homeland framework.

In the legal realm, the vision targets the protection of fundamental rights, an independent judiciary, and a libertarian, inclusive constitution that balances individual freedoms with public order.

For governance and urban development, the document details plans for human-centric smart cities, data-driven local administration and expanded social housing, including building 500,000 social units and transforming 150,000 independent units annually across all 81 provinces.

To strengthen society, the 2026–2035 period is designated as the “Decade of Family and Population,” providing economic support for young families, housing access, and work-life balance. Policies for women focus on STEM education, AI literacy, entrepreneurship, flexible work options, and zero tolerance for violence. For youth, the strategy prioritizes support in science, arts, sports, and decision-making roles while combating addiction.

Environmental targets include advancing toward the 2053 net-zero emission goal, treating water security as a component of national security, adapting agriculture to climate change, and expanding public green spaces.

Finally, the strategy integrates a strong economy, robust democracy, inclusive constitution, effective public administration, qualified human resources, green transformation, defense capability, and active diplomacy as mutually reinforcing pillars for the next 25 years.

DAILYSABAH