Yilmaz: "Americans consider US as their rival in technology"

Speaking at the opening ceremony of a vocational school in Ilgin district of Konya, Defense Minister Ismet Yilmaz said yesterday that education was the best field to make investment. Stating that young Turkish people now compete with countries such as Germany, France and the US, Yilmaz said, "When we requested technology transfer from Americans during one of our visits to the US, they told us that they considered Turks as their rival in technology, asking why they would transfer technology to us." Yilmaz said that once we increased our Gross National Product (GNP) to two trillion American dollars, we could take our place among the ten largest economies worldwide in 2023, adding, "We will achieve this goal through our people and an increase in the educational level of our people."