Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım said on Saturday that Turkey's goal was to make medicines required in the country locally. "Eighty percent of medicines consumed in Turkey were produced locally in 2017," he said in a statement issued by the prime ministry.

He added Turkey produced medicines worth nearly TL 2.2 billion ($600 million) in 2017. "Turkey has the capacity to produce medicines worth TL 6.1 billion," he said.

Yıldırım said Turkey would be able to save more than TL 6 billion by producing medicines locally. So far, Turkey has been producing 577 medicines. "If we want a more powerful Turkey we must widen our horizons for indigenous projects," he said.