Bangladesh on Monday called for increased investment from Türkiye and stronger cooperation in the defence sector during a meeting between the two countries’ representatives in Dhaka.
State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shama Obaed Islam made the call when Turkish Ambassador to Bangladesh Ramis Şen paid a courtesy visit to her at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
During the meeting, the state minister expressed Bangladesh’s readiness to facilitate greater Turkish investment and highlighted the growing defence cooperation between the two countries. She underscored the importance of continued collaboration in capacity building and defence industry development.
The discussions also covered Bangladesh’s candidature for the presidency of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly for the 2026–2027 term. Ambassador Şen conveyed that the Republic of Türkiye would support Bangladesh’s bid.
The Turkish envoy congratulated the state minister on her recent appointment and reaffirmed Türkiye’s commitment to further strengthening the longstanding friendship and partnership between the two nations.
Both sides emphasised that the bilateral relationship is built on shared values, cultural affinity and longstanding civilisational ties. They also expressed satisfaction over the positive momentum in bilateral trade and highlighted their shared goal of expanding trade volume between the two countries.
The state minister thanked the Turkish government for its humanitarian assistance to the forcibly displaced Rohingya people sheltered in Bangladesh and for its consistent support for Bangladesh at international forums.
She also expressed hope that Türkiye would continue to play an important role in facilitating the repatriation of Rohingyas to Myanmar.
Highlighting growing cultural and educational engagement between the two countries, the state minister noted the rising popularity of Turkish culture in Bangladesh and proposed establishing a full-fledged cultural institute in the country.
In response, Ambassador Şen referred to an existing proposal to establish the Yunus Emre Institute at University of Dhaka, saying the initiative could initially begin as a language training centre before expanding into broader cultural programmes.
The state minister also expressed hope that once the national parliament reconvenes, efforts would be made to revive the Bangladesh–Türkiye Parliamentary Friendship Group to further strengthen legislative engagement and people-to-people ties.
Source: UNB
Bd-pratidin English/ Jisan
