ANKARA

Turkey will reduce its import bill by $50 billion with an initiative supporting domestic output of hi-tech products, a senior official has announced.

"Under the Technology-Oriented Industry Move, we support investments to produce, with local means and capabilities, 919 products that are hi-tech or for which we incur a heavy foreign trade deficit," Industry and Technology Minister Mustafa Varank said Saturday on Twitter.

The ministry identified several areas and products that it said were of critical importance for the development of sectors such as chemicals, computer-electronic optics, machinery, pharmaceuticals, electrical equipment, transportation vehicles, and medical devices.

*Writing by Tuba Sahin