Turkey is working on developing its national Covid-19 vaccine (Turkovac) now, Turkish Ambassador to Bangladesh Mustafa Osman Turan said Monday.

"Once the work is completed, we are open to making it available to other countries and exploring ways to collaborate with Bangladesh," he added.

The envoy was paying his first visit to icddr,b in Mohakhali and was very keen to learn about the world-renowned public health research institution and its recent Covid-19 research activities.

During the visit, he termed icddr,b's life-saving research inspiring.

Turan and Gizem Aydin Erdem, second secretary of the Turkish embassy, were welcomed by icddr,b's Executive Director Dr Tahmeed Ahmed. 

Dr Tahmeed presented an overview of icddr,b and how the institution has contributed to global public health research and innovation and become a centre of excellence in the global south. 

He explained how icddr,b uses basic and implementation research, and knowledge translation to solve major public health problems facing low- and middle-income countries of the world. 

Turan toured icddr,b's mucosal immunology and vaccinology laboratory. Dr Firdausi Qadri, a senior scientist at icddr,b, demonstrated the state of the art facility, which provides cutting edge services to vaccine research, including studies related to Covid.

The Turkish ambassador was not only impressed by the breadth of the research activities of icddr,b but was surprised by how easily the research gets translated into low-cost affordable solutions to help people in need in Bangladesh and beyond, said icddr,b Monday. 

Also, he emphasised the importance of more research, funding, and collaboration. 

Dr Tahmeed requested the ambassador to help icddr,b to collaborate with Turkish universities and research institutions engaged in public health research.