Fast-growing Bangladesh attracting Turkish entrepreneurs: Turkish envoy

Turkish Ambassador to Bangladesh Mustafa Osman Turan has said his country is eyeing an increased investment in Bangladesh with a significant jump in bilateral trade volume through product diversification as Bangladesh's economy is growing fast.

"We see a Bangladesh which has a very bright future. Its economy is growing fast like ours. Turkish investors are keen to invest in Bangladesh as it offers attractive incentives for foreign investors," he said.

Ambassador Turan who came to Bangladesh just before the Covid-19 pandemic said a prominent Turkish company will invest US$ 100 million in LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas) sector in Chattogram. "That will be an initial investment."

He said improving trade between the two countries, boosting investment in Bangladesh, enhancing cultural and people-to- people ties are among his priorities during his tenure in Bangladesh.

"As an envoy, there's always a desire to do something more," Ambassador Turan said, adding that he is lucky to see the positive atmosphere in place created by his predecessors to take forward the relations to a new height.

"Our economies are growing quite fast. We're happy that our economic and trade relations are improving. We're expecting better trade volume between the two countries."

The Turkish envoy said they buy a lot of jute products from Bangladesh and will explore other areas saying the two countries can always diversify their trade.

"Bangladesh has a very strong pharmaceutical industry, growing IT industry," he said adding that agro industries, light engineering, service sector, tourism and health sector are some promising areas of cooperation.

Ambassador Turan said: "The trade volume between the two countries in the first 10 months of the current year stood at US$754 million and the figure is the same what we had seen in the first 10 months of 2019."

The Turkish Ambassador, who joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkey in 1992, highly appreciated Bangladesh's growth, especially the achievements made over the last 10 years saying 50 years have been quite a significant journey for Bangladesh.