Bangladesh, Turkey to work together on bilateral, global issues

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina says Bangladesh and Turkey have agreed to cooperate on mutual interests as well as international issues.

Senior Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 19 Dec 2017, 02:48 PM
Updated : 19 Dec 2017, 07:29 PM

“We hope to have Turkey by our side in course of our journey towards development,” she said in a joint statement after the official talks with visiting Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim.

Yildrim’s visit is in continuation of exchange of high- level visits between Bangladesh and Turkey, said the prime minister.

Expressing her gratitude to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for supporting Bangladesh on the Rohingya issue, Hasina said she had a productive discussion with her Turkish counterpart.

“We have reiterated our commitment to work closely and support each other on bilateral and international issues of mutual concern, including the issue of forcibly displaced Rohingya people from Myanmar.”

Hasina said the two countries have agreed to boost cooperation in trade and investment, defence, education, tourism and connectivity among other areas.

Turkish Prime Minister Yildrim called on the international community and the UN to support Bangladesh until the Rohingya crisis is resolved.

Turkey wants to expand its cooperation to Bangladesh over the refugee crisis, he said in his statement.

Praising Hasina for her role in the Rohingya crisis, he thanked hisBangladesh counterpart for supporting democracy in Turkey.

Prior to the official talks at the Prime Minister’s Office, two MoUs were signed to increase cooperation in the development of small and medium industries and increase institutional cooperation in the quality control of products.

One of the agreements was between Bangladesh’s MI Foundation and Turkey’s MI Development Organisation. The other was between the Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution and the Turkish Standards Institution.

Yildrim is scheduled to travel to Cox’s Bazar on Wednesday to visit the Kutupalong refugee camp.

Following the joint declaration, Foreign Secretary Shahidul Haque and Press Secretary to the PM Ihsanul Karim briefed the media on the bilateral talks.

“The two prime ministers' observations are that Bangladesh and Turkey have shared the same  stance for quite some time on international issues, especially on Jerusalem, OIC, Syria, Libya or Iraq,” said the foreign secretary.

He said the discussions did not include Turkey’s stance on Bangladesh trying the 1971 war criminals.

Following the execution of  Jamaat-e-Islami chief Motiur Rahman Nizami for war crimes, Turkish President Erdogan issued a statement expressing concerns, straining the diplomatic relations.