Turkey plans to train 1 million amateur sailors by 2023

By Arife Yildiz Unal and Ayse Bocuoglu Bodur

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey aims to train one million amateur sailors by 2023, Transport and Infrastructure Minister Cahit Turhan said on Tuesday.

"We aim to instill maritime culture to one million people until 2023 and to reach the goal of becoming a maritime nation," Turhan said during introductory meeting of the project.

Turhan also said that a free basic training program for amateur maritime was launched to achieve this goal.

Stressing that shipping by sea constitutes 84 percent of global transportation, Turhan said Turkey should be one of the key countries in global sea transportation due to its geographical location.

Turkey ranks second after China with 112,000 educated seamen, Turhan added.

He said one out of every 390 persons in Turkey possesses an amateur sailor certificate, while it was one out of every 64 in the Netherlands, 68 in Italy and 184 in Germany.

Turkey's 2023 Vision sets specific targets for improvements in the areas of economic activity, energy, healthcare, education, and transport.