ZHUKOVSKY. Aug 27 (Interfax) - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has invited Russian President Vladimir Putin to attend Teknofest Istanbul in October.
"We will be holding the Teknofest aviation, aerospace, and technical festival in Istanbul this year. The first festival and exhibition of the kind took place last year with a turnout exceeding 550,000 visitors. The second festival will take place on September 17-22 of this year, and we are expecting over 1 million visitors. We invite all people of Russia, and first and foremost President Putin, to our festival," Erdogan said at the opening ceremony of the MAKS 2019 international aerospace show in Zhukovsky, Moscow region, on Tuesday.
Turkey has done a lot to develop aviation under the slogan "Future in the Skies" in recent years, Erdogan said, adding that Turkish Airlines is a major global air transport company. The airline operates 258 routes in more than 100 countries, he said.
Erdogan additionally mentioned the ongoing construction of a new airport in Istanbul. "Hopefully, we will see 200 million passengers per year in our airport once all parts of the Istanbul Airport are ready," he said. According to Erdogan, the project will make Turkey one of the most advanced aviation powers.