Ambassador of Turkey to Bangladesh Mustafa Osman Turan said Turkey mostly imports jute from Bangladesh for their carpet industry. Half of their total import which is about USD 300 million constitutes jute from Bangladesh, said the Turkish Ambassador while he paid a courtesy visit to DCCI to meet its President Rizwan Rahman at DCCI on February 2, 2021.
The Turkish Ambassador also marked some of the important potential areas where Turkish companies could invest or collaborate jointly like agro-industry, light engineering, pharmaceuticals, ICT, shipbuilding, energy, household appliances. “We want to rebrand Turkey in Bangladesh” said the Ambassador. The bilateral trade between Bangladesh and Turkey did not decline that much despite the pandemic. Bangladesh’s agriculture sector is being modernized and experiencing a digital transformation now. He termed this sector a very potential for joint collaboration.
Rizwan Rahman, President, DCCI said that Bangladesh has emerged as Turkey’s third largest trade partner in South Asia with a total trade volume of USD 705 million in FY 2018-19. He also proposed to hold a bilateral virtual B2B conclave to promote private sector investment. He also requested Turkey through the Embassy to withdraw anti-dumping duty on yarn from Bangladesh imposed on 16 October 2018. The DCCI President said the total trade volume of both the countries in 2019-20 was USD 686.88 million which does not reflect the actual trade potential of these two friendly countries. He reiterated that more interaction and communication among the Turkish business bodies and Bangladeshi business community will enhance bilateral trade volume in future.
DCCI Senior Vice President N K A Mobin, FCS, FCA, Vice President Monowar Hossain and Commercial Counsellor of Turkish Embassy Kenan Kalayci were also present during the meeting.