Turkey, Bangladesh should forge further ties, Bangladeshi ambassador says

With flourishing trade relations, cultural ties and governments with a similar understanding of democracy, Turkey and Bangladesh are very close countries, Bangladesh Ambassador to Turkey Zulfiqur Rahman has said. He added that relations between the two countries should be further developed in order to match their true potential. Speaking to Today's Zaman on the occasion of the national day of Bangladesh, Rahman noted that Turkey and Bangladesh have a common past and have gone through the same political phases, leading to recent, successful democratization. Cooperation between the two countries is going very well in terms of trade, education and defense; however, it should be boosted further, he emphasized. Trade volume between the two countries reached $1 billion in 2011. The leading sector in which Turkey imports from Bangladesh is ready-made-garments, of which Bangladesh is the fourth-largest exporter in the world. Rahman appreciates the Turkish government's efforts to increase investment and trade relations with his country, noting that while the trade volume between the countries was only $47 million in 2002, it had reached $658 million by 2009 and last year it hit $1 billion."The trade between Bangladesh and Turkey right now is satisfactory, but it is not up to the potential … for the two countries," said Rahman, recalling Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's proposal to increase bilateral trade volume to $3 billion by 2015 during his visit to Bangladesh in November 2010. Rahman expressed the pleasure of the Bangladeshi government with this proposal and the strong efforts to realize it. Rahman noted that Turkey and Bangladesh need better links in some sectors in order to achieve this target. The ambassador asserted that Turkey is a very promising market for Bangladeshi pharmaceuticals, which have significant access to EU and the US markets, being exported to a total of 80 countries worldwide. "The Turkish government is now paying a huge amount to the social security sector because of drug prices. If the Turkish government purchases our pharmaceuticals, the amount will be reduced by at least half," he said. He noted that delegations from the two countries are working towards the application of Turkish rules and regulations to Bangladeshi pharmaceuticals. Located in a cyclone region, Bangladesh also has a very quick disaster response mechanism. Their successes in disaster management have reduced cyclone deaths from 20,000 in 1970 to fewer than 200 by the 1990s. Rahman stated that his country is ready to share its experience in this regard with Turkey and that a process for cooperation is already being worked out. Turkey and Bangladesh already work together well in defense, with cooperation dating back to 1978, when the two countries signed their first defense cooperation agreement. A bilateral military training agreement in 2004 carried defense cooperation to a higher level. So far, approximately 3,000 Bangladeshi military officers have been trained in Turkey. In order to finance the education of Turkish soldiers in Bangladesh, Turkey has provided an annual grant of TL 500 million to Bangladesh since 2008. Having been busy making arrangements for a visit by Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to Turkey next month, Rahman also expressed satisfaction with the increasing diplomatic contact between the South Asian country and Turkey. Hasina, who will visit Turkey in April, will also deliver a speech at Ankara University on the political and economic empowerment of woman. Erdogan's visit in November 2010 marked the first prime ministerial visit by Turkey to the country in 21 years. In February of the same year, Turkish President Abdullah Gul also visited Bangladesh.