An Equitable Futurein a Smart World

Opening speeches were delivered by Muharrem Çığlık, Coordinator of the Palandöken Economic Forum; Mehmet Sekmen, Mayor of Erzurum; and Mustafa Çiftçi, Governor of Erzurum. The Forum’s opening address was given by President of the Republic of Türkiye Recep Tayyip Erdoğan by video message, and Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz highlighted the “digital century” in his opening remarks. The Opening Session, moderated by M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu, President of TOBB, brought together Binali Yıldırım, Chairman of the Council of Elders of the Organization of Turkic States; Efkan Âlâ, Deputy Chairman of the AK Party; Minister of Trade Ömer Bolat; Minister of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Nuri Ersoy; and Minister of National Education Yusuf Tekin.

The session examined in depth the transformative effects of digitalization and artificial intelligence technologies on culture and tourism. It discussed how shared cultural heritage can be strengthened in the digital age and how cultural cooperation in the Turkic world contributes to economic and social development. Stressing the importance of smart transformation in culture and tourism strategies, speakers assessed how AI-supported solutions can help protect cultural values and strengthen the principle of sustainability in tourism. While addressing the environmental and social effects of growing tourism mobility, they underlined the need to restructure the tourism industry with policies that respect ecological balance.

In cultural diplomacy, speakers highlighted the strategic importance for a fair future of building more inclusive and equitable cultural networks through digital platforms. Noting that Türkiye is a model country in reviving cultural heritage in the digital sphere, they discussed innovative practices that use artificial intelligence and new-generation technologies to bring cultural values to wide audiences and pass them on to younger generations. Throughout the session it was emphasized that technological transformation in culture and tourism not only delivers efficiency but also lays the groundwork for a future that protects cultural diversity and supports social inclusion; the importance of language for all technological developments and in passing culture on to future generations was also highlighted.

Moderated by M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu, President of TOBB, the session assessed Türkiye’s current investment environment and new investment strategies for the future of the Turkish economy within the framework of the Forum’s main theme. Representatives of business organizations from the United States, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus shared their views.

Moderated by Mustafa Gültepe, President of the Turkish Exporters Assembly, the special session aimed to lay the groundwork for strengthening the deepening economic relations between Türkiye and the member states of the League of Arab States on the basis of mutual interaction and multi-level cooperation. With the ambassadors and chargés d’affaires of Arab countries in Ankara taking part, the session also offered an exchange of information with business people from a range of sectors.

The session discussed how industries critical to economic growth and sustainability can become more efficient, innovative and competitive with artificial intelligence. Speakers observed that artificial intelligence is reshaping not only jobs and economies but also the norms of global cooperation, and that developing countries are falling behind in this respect. This, they noted, risks creating injustice in the production of knowledge and the setting of standards; fair governance of artificial intelligence will therefore require all countries, not only those that produce the technology, to work together. The session also highlighted applications born of combining artificial intelligence with systems biology in healthcare — structural biology and AlphaFold, AI-assisted radiological diagnosis and the use of multi-omics data — as key areas that will advance scientific welfare in the health systems of the future, stressing that in healthcare artificial intelligence will become not merely an operational aid but a force that changes treatment paradigms.

The global economic agenda is dominated by expectations of a slowdown, debates on resilience, and problems in production, consumption, supply and logistics caused by regional instability, wars and climate change. Under the question “How is a smart economy built?”, the session discussed what makes an economy smart and countries’ efforts to transform. Speakers argued that at a time of slowing global growth, accelerating technological change and intensifying geopolitical competition, economic systems must be rebuilt around resilience and inclusiveness, and stressed the critical importance of building smart economies and ensuring economic inclusion for global stability and prosperity. They suggested that global rules need to be revisited to achieve such a fair structure, and discussed Türkiye’s role in the artificial intelligence and biotechnology revolutions that are decisive for the shifting global balance of power. Türkiye’s opportunity to become a country that shapes technology, rather than merely using it, is growing in this new era, they noted, and seizing it calls for bolder investment, a long-term vision and continued strategic implementation.

Tackling climate change and pursuing ecological transformation are essential to leaving future generations a liveable and fair world. Climate change, ecological transformation and energy policy are vital not only for the environment but also for economic and social sustainability. The session discussed the fight against climate change, the energy transition, ecological sustainability and food security, and the role of smart economies in these fields. Speakers noted that the concept of the twin transition — combining digital transformation with ecological sustainability — offers a faster, more resilient and more inclusive development model by joining the two synergistically, and stressed that it should be embraced as the key to creating a fairer, cleaner and more innovative world for future generations.

They also pointed to holistic policies that grasp the links between climate change, livelihoods and food security, the use of agricultural policy in the fight against climate change, and investment in inclusive technological innovation as the way to build a fairer economy for generations to come.

The outcomes of the era of smart economies are vital to reducing global and social inequalities and building a fair future. The session noted that poverty is rooted in systems, and that eradicating it for a fairer future requires developing new systems for disadvantaged groups. Speakers argued that the importance attached to technology must evolve towards a human-centered path, and that building more inclusive — rather than merely smarter — economies in the twenty-first century will make the future fairer and more inclusive. They also called for retraining and support mechanisms for workers adversely affected by structural change, for reducing income inequality by taxing the sectors that benefit from artificial intelligence, and for ethical and social policies on the use of artificial intelligence in line with inclusive growth goals.