Turkey has expressed keenness to invest in Bangladesh鈥檚 various sectors, including renewable energy, automobile manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, information and communication technology, logistics and construction industry.
These were revealed while Turkish trade minister Omer Bolat held a meeting with commerce adviser Sk Bashir Uddin at the Ministry of Commerce in the city.
During the meeting, a number of bilateral issues such as increasing trade volume, Turkish investment potential in Bangladesh, obtaining halal food certificate and formation of an Economic Commission came up for discussion.
Bashir said that Bangladesh and Turkey had a long history of cooperation in various sectors, including business, education and culture.聽
He laid emphasis on encouraging the expansion of trade and investment between the two countries.
Referring to Turkey as one of the world鈥檚 top halal food exporting countries, he sought Turkey鈥檚 cooperation in expanding the halal food market of Bangladesh.
He said that obtaining an internationally recognised halal certificate was very important.聽
In this regard, signing of a memorandum of understanding between the Halal Accreditation Authority of Turkey and the Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution will make it easier for Bangladesh to obtain a halal certificate, he added.
He mentioned that exporting halal food would strengthen the country鈥檚 economy.
Stating that Bangladesh currently had an excellent investment environment, the commerce adviser said that Bangladesh was also providing several facilities and benefits in terms of foreign investment.
He said that there was huge potential for investment in renewable energy, telecommunications, information technology, pharmaceuticals, light engineering, services, construction industry and ready-made garments sectors in Bangladesh.
He called for increasing Turkish investment in special economic zones in Bangladesh.
Omer Bolat said that currently, Bangladesh鈥檚 trade with Turkey was mainly focused on the textile sector.聽
Turkey exports various machinery and chemicals to Bangladesh, he added.
On the other hand, he said, Turkey imports ready-made garments from Bangladesh.聽
Turkey wants to diversify bilateral trade not only in the textile sector, he added.
Turkish state minister for trade Mustafa Tuzcu and secretary (routine responsibilities) of the Ministry of Commerce Md Abdur Rahim Khan were present on the occasion.
