Erdogan: Creating brands will sharpen our competitive edge

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday attended the Turkish Patent Institute's (TPE) 2007 Patent Awards ceremony. Addressing the gathering, Erdogan said, "We should focus on brand development and creating brands to compete internationally." Stressing that creating brands will sharpen Turkey's competitive edge, Erdogan said the government puts great emphasis on research and development and will keep assisting such projects. He also pointed out that by seeking some 72,000 patents last year, Turkey was among the top three European countries for patent applications. Also addressing the meeting, Industry Minister Zafer Caglayan said that the technological advances of Turkey's industry together with the creativity and intelligence of its people will propel the country to an important position in world trade and industry.