Turkey and Bangladesh are going to establish a great relationship between these two countries. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan today hoped that Bangladesh and Turkey would be able to increase the trade to US$ 3 billion by 2015 by enhancing the partnership with business communities of the two counties.
The Turkish Prime Minister was speaking at a luncheon meeting
organized by Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and
Industry (FBCCI) at Sheraton Hotel in the city.
Erdogan and his spouse Emine Erdogan arrived here yesterday
on a two-day official visit to Bangladesh.
Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey Ali Babacan and other
members of the Prime Minister’s entourage joined the meeting.
FBCCI president AK Azad gave the welcome speech while Finance
Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith addressed the meeting.
Administration Affairs Adviser HT Imam, Economic Affairs
Adviser to Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Dr Moshiur Rahman,
Commerce Minister Lt Col (retd) Faruk Khan and Press Secretary to
the Prime Minister of Bangladesh Abul Kalam Azad were present,
among others.
Erdogan expressed the hope that the target to achieve the
two-way trade worth US$ 3 billion by 2015 is achievable as the
two countries have determined business people and untapped
potentials.
“We can achieve many things in terms of expanding trade and
commerce through partnership,” said the Turkish Prime Minister.
Dhaka-Ankara trade volume rose to US$ 742 million in 2010
from only US$ 47 million in 2002, he said adding that the two
countries achieved the increased trade balance despite the global
financial recession.
He praised Bangladesh’s target of transforming into a middle-
income status by 2021 and said Turkey has also a target to be
amongst top ten economies of the world by 2023.
“Our economy is growing at record level as in the last six
months our growth has increased by 11 percent,” said Erdogan and
added that faster development in tourism sector and better credit
rating have contributed a lot to this end.
A country can achieve higher economic growth if there is no
corruption and it fights against poverty, said the Turkish Prime
Minister. “I see Bangladesh has very prospects in near future as
the government of the country has taken several sincere steps,”
he said.
The Turkish PM favoured renewal of the Promotion and
Protection of Investment to boost trade and commerce between
Bangladesh and Turkey.
Muhith stressed the need for trade reciprocity between the
two countries. He also pointed out that Bangladesh has two
bottlenecks in transportation and energy, which must be resolved.
He described the anticipated launching of Dhaka-Ankara direct
flight as milestone and said it will be instrumental to
strengthening the trade ties.
AK Azad said a target has been set to attain 8 percent Gross
Domestic Product (GDP) growth by 2013 contributed mainly by
service and agriculture sectors.
He identified tourism, IT, light engineering, agro-based
industries, leather and leather goods as potential sectors for
investment.
DHAKA, Nov 14 (BSS)
