State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shama Obaed Islam on Monday called for increased Turkish investment in Bangladesh and expressed the government’s readiness to facilitate such engagement.
She also highlighted the growing defence cooperation between the two countries and stressed the importance of continued collaboration in capacity building and defence industry partnerships.
The issues came up when Turkish Ambassador Ramis Şen paid a courtesy call on the state minister at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bangladesh.
During the meeting, the state minister also sought Türkiye’s support for Bangladesh’s candidature for the presidency of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly for the 2026–2027 term.
Ambassador Şen conveyed that Turkey would extend its support to Bangladesh’s candidature, according to the foreign ministry.
The ambassador congratulated the state minister on her recent appointment and reaffirmed Türkiye’s commitment to further strengthening the longstanding friendship and partnership between the two countries.
Welcoming the envoy, Shama Obaed Islam highlighted the strong bilateral relations between Bangladesh and Türkiye, which she said are rooted in shared values, cultural affinity and deep civilisational bonds.
The discussions focused on enhancing cooperation in several key sectors. Both sides expressed satisfaction over the positive momentum in bilateral trade and emphasised their shared goal of expanding trade volume between the two countries.
The state minister also thanked the Turkish government for its humanitarian assistance to the forcibly displaced Rohingyas sheltered in Bangladesh and for Ankara’s consistent support for Dhaka in international forums.
She expressed hope that Türkiye would continue to play an active role in efforts to repatriate the Rohingyas to Myanmar.
Shama Obaed Islam also welcomed the growing cultural and educational exchanges between the two countries, noting the increasing popularity of Turkish culture in Bangladesh. She proposed the establishment of a full-fledged cultural institute in the country to further promote Turkish heritage.
In response, Ambassador Şen referred to an existing proposal to establish the Yunus Emre Institute at the University of Dhaka. He said the initiative could begin as a language training centre and gradually expand into broader cultural programmes.
The state minister also expressed hope that once the national parliament reconvenes, steps would be taken to revive the Bangladesh–Turkey Parliamentary Friendship Group to strengthen legislative engagement and people-to-people ties.
She noted that such parliamentary friendship groups play an important role in advancing bilateral cooperation and parliamentary diplomacy.