Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus on Monday invited more Turkish investment in Bangladesh, saying Dhaka is ‘now ready for business’ and both nations should explore full potential in their relationship.
"We should put in a big effort," he said when Turkish Ambassador to Bangladesh Ramis Sen paid a courtesy call on the Chief Adviser at his Tejgaon office in Dhaka.
The Turkish envoy said bilateral trade between the two nations now stands at $1.1 billion, but there are huge scopes to scale up exports from both countries.
He said a Turkish official delegation is now visiting Bangladesh in an effort to explore new business and trade opportunities and help reform initiatives of the interim government, according to the Chief Adviser's press wing.
"We want to deepen trade and economic ties," Sen said, adding that the Turkish Trade Minister would visit Bangladesh in December this year.
Prof Yunus for creating "safe zone guaranteed by UN" for displaced people in Rakhine
Prof Yunus also extended an invitation to the Turkish President and the first lady to visit Bangladesh at an opportune time.
They discussed ways to deepen trade, economic and defence cooperation between the two countries, the Rohingya crisis, and more exchanges of students between two Muslim majority nations.
Prof Yunus appreciated the Turkish humanitarian response to recent Bangladesh floods, its continued assistance to the Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh's southeast, and a visit by a Turkish official delegation to enhance trade and business ties between the two nations.
The envoy thanked Bangladesh for expressing solidarity with the earthquake victims of Turkey last year and sending some 10,000 tents for them.
He conveyed Ankara’s invitation to Bangladesh to attend the upcoming World Halal Summit and a ministerial-level meeting in Istanbul.
He said another Turkish team travelled the country during the recent floods in southeast Bangladesh, and provided humanitarian aid to the flood victims in Feni, Noakhali, Lakshmipur and Cumilla.
The Turkish Ambassador emphasised a high-level business delegation's visit to Turkey to engage with Turkish business people and officials.