ANKARA

Turkish president vowed Wednesday to take necessary steps to become a global actor in smart cities market.

“We are determined to do whatever it takes to be a major actor in the smart cities market which is expected to top $800 billion market value in a couple of years,” Recep Tayyip Erdogan told the Smart Cities and Municipalities Congress and Exhibit in the capital Ankara.

The president said Turkey aims to enter the global market as an exporter, besides supplying its needs in smart city applications.

Smart cities, which is a new approach to urban planning to connect everything using technologies, improve city services, infrastructure and ultimately residents’ quality of life.

“Turkey is among the leading countries in terms of smart cities,” he said, highlighting the country’s support for smart city plans.

He also said that Turkey already made great progress in building up eco-friendly cities.

Smart cities should be compatible with each other, Erdogan said and underscored the importance of citizen’s support.

“The more we increase the people’s quality of life with smart cities, the more they protect and support it,” he added.