A top-level visit from Turkey to Bangladesh expected in the coming months could unravel a wide range of opportunities in bilateral relations, particularly in trade, investments and mutual understanding, Bangladesh Ambassador in Ankara Mosud Mannan said Thursday.
Mannan said in an exclusive interview with Anadolu Agency (AA) that he has been working to materialize the visit soon.
He reiterated that top diplomats of both countries have already announced that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan may travel to Dhaka in March if the COVID-19 situation remains under control, which Mannan says will be enormously significant.
“It will open up many more opportunities to tap potential yet untapped in the coming years and build political understanding and business,” he said.
Explaining preparations for the high-level visit as well as its significance for Ankara and Dhaka, the envoy expressed optimism to double the current bilateral trade volume worth $1 billion (TL 7 billion) within the next two to three years.
He said the strong desire from top politicians and businesspeople of both countries will help to achieve this goal.
The Bangladeshi diplomat said the desired bilateral trade volume “is not an impossible figure to reach, since even during COVID-19 time,” the two countries had trade worth almost $1 billion.
“We are expecting more investment to come to Bangladesh from Turkey,” he added, reiterating that it had already started with Turkish conglomerate Koç Group a few years back.
For further cooperation, a new agreement between Turkey’s Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEIK) and Bangladesh’s Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FBCCI) was also signed on Feb. 3, 2021. FBCCI is the largest body representing all the chambers of commerce and industries in Bangladesh.
