Bangladesh, Turkey maintain strong ties

Turkey Ambassador Mustafa Osman Turan tells The Bangladesh News

Bangladesh and Turkey maintain very strong foundation of bilateral relations. There is very strong cultural and religious as well as historical tie between the two countries. 

Expansion of trade and investment with Bangladesh is the top priority of Turkey. The trade volume is currently around $1 billion annually, which would reach up to $3 billion in the next couple of years.  Mustafa Osman Turan, Ambassador of Turkey to Bangladesh, said this in an exclusive interview with The Bangladesh News.

The following is excerpts of the interview.

The Bangladesh News: Bangladesh-Turkey relations are flourishing. How do you view current relations between the two countries? And what can be achieved in the years to come? 

Mustafa Osman Turan: We can achieve a lot. We have very strong cultural and religious as well as historical ties between our countries. It goes back to the 12th century, the 13th century when the Sufi masters came from Anatolia. They are the early pioneers of Islam. The wise phase of Islam is coming to these lands and settling here. Later on during our republic and national Liberation struggle, we found our Bangalee Muslim brothers next to us.

During our war of Independence, Kemal Atatürk inspired many of the Bangalees, also Kazi Nazrul Islam who wrote his famous poem Kemal Pasha to celebrate the joy of our victory against the imperialist powers at the time in 1920.

Since then, we had very strong foundation. We can now improve relations in the field of economy, trade, investments, cultural exchanges, cooperation between universities, student exchanges, science, technology, innovation and entrepreneurship. There are plenty of opportunities because both the countries are developing very fast which creates many opportunities. I am very much pleased that we are now on a very good track of coming closer in all these areas.

The Bangladesh News: Turkish Foreign Minister had a bilateral meeting with his Bangladesh counterpart in Dhaka. Bangladesh and Turkey expressed willingness to extend cooperation and increase bilateral trade volume. Please share more regarding this. 

Mustafa Osman Turan: Trade is our priority. The current level of our trade volume does not reflect the potential that we have. The trade volume is currently around $1 billion annually and is slightly in favour of Bangladesh. In the coming years, we would like to triple this amount to $3 billion in the next couple of years. For that we need to diversify our trade and create the conditions for our business people to come together to explore the opportunities. 

The Bangladesh News: Please mention about you recent Chittagong visit.

Mustafa Osman Turan: Before my visit to Chittagong, our two foreign ministers visited each other. Bangladesh foreign minister was in Turkey in September last year and Turkish foreign minister was here in December the same year. During those visits, increasing trade and investment was identified as top priority. So, my minister instructed me to go around Bangladesh and meet local government as well as business personalities and that's exactly what I did in Chittagong. We went there as a team with our commercial councilor, press councilor, Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA). We also have Honorary Consul General, Salahuddin Kasem Khan, based in Chittagong. He is a very experienced senior Honorary Consul General. He organised a very good programme. I met the chairman of Chittagong Port Authority, president of the Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) at World Trade Center - a beautiful building. Then we went to the Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology and met the vice chancellor, the faculty. I also visited Shahi Jame Mosque which is a historical monument from the Mughal times and our late President Süleyman Demirel in 1997 visited Chittagong during the Silver Jubilee of Bangladesh. He went in that mosque. He also donated very beautiful Chandelier, which is still hanging in the mosque. But this mosque needs some restoration, especially the historical part. Now TIKA is looking into the possibility of restoring the mosque and hopefully we will announce good news in the near future. We also had good contacts with some of local institutions, for example the development agency, development cooperation. We had a very good conversation there. TIKA has renovated one health clinic which is also named after the wife of the late first lady - Nazmiye Demirel. This health clinic has also been restored by TIKA and we inaugurated it which will be used as a health clinic to serve the citizen of Chittagong.

It was a very productive visit. On the way back, we stopped in Feni and visited a high school which is named after Kemal Atatürk. The school was being built two months after he (Kemal Atatürk) died in 1938, November and the people of Feni gave his name because they really respected him. I met the head of the teachers, unfortunately students were not there because of pandemic. I will visit again to see the students and wish them all the best.

The Bangladesh News: How important is foreign investment to Bangladesh’s economic growth during this pandemic?

Mustafa Osman Turan: Yes, Turkish companies are interested in investing in Bangladesh. There has been already an important investment. In 2019, one of our big companies called Arçelik has bought majority shares of Singer Bangladesh. They are now producing refrigerators, televisions, ACs and other home appliances and using the same brand - Singer Bangladesh. They will slowly bring new technology to expand their factories in Bangladesh. Another investment will come from a big Turkish company in the field of LPG, which will be in Chittagong. But they will have sub-offices in Mongla port and Dhaka. They will invest in supply, filling and distribution of LPG cylinders to be used in the households for cooking. So, it's very important and this LPG is a very clean energy.

It can also be used in the cars as it does not pollute the air. I think to reduce air pollution in Dhaka, it will be very significant to allow the cars use LPG. In Turkey, we use it a lot. Most of our taxis in Istanbul use LPG. They do not use normal petrol or diesel, which pollute the air. That's why this investment is important in Bangladesh. These are just examples. I am sure, we will also have more investors coming. We have already organised one meeting with BIDA, and will organise another with FBCCI. Both the governments are ready to increase the amount of trade. We are very optimistic about the near future in terms of investment.

The Bangladesh News: You have also shown interest in economic zone.

Mustafa Osman Turan: Yes, that's a good way to invest in Bangladesh. Special economic zone (SEZ) provides very good set of incentives. The government has now created a legal framework for SEZs.

The honorable Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is very keen on allowing countries to attract their investors into their own special economic zones. Some countries have already done it and Turkey is also preparing to attract its investors to Bangladesh through an economic zone. There are many advantages to do so, including good infrastructure, incentives and also clustering the businesses together and also facilitate cooperation among them.

The Bangladesh News: How do you find Bangladesh's present development activities?

Mustafa Osman Turan: We are looking into different alternatives. There are opportunities in Dhaka, Chittagong, Matarbari deep sea port, Bangabundhu special economic zone, which is quite big. I am visiting some of them. Of course, this is a decision to be made by private sector as the government can only facilitate. But we also hope to sign a government-to-government agreement with Bangladesh. I have recently visited PPP Authority and they are doing a fantastic job in terms of public-private partnership projects, especially mega projects like Padma bridge, the highways and many other energy projects. There are more than seventy projects already underway. We are very interested in mega projects in Bangladesh. Turkish contracting companies are very good. More than 25 percent of the top 250 contracting companies in the world are Turkish. After China, we have the highest amount of best contracting companies and they are very fast and efficient. Their price-quality ratio is very good. I am trying to bring some of them to Bangladesh so that they showcase their capabilities and good work. For example, this new embassy building has been designed by Turkish architecture company and built by a Turkish contracting company. It was done in two years. None can beat us in terms of speed and quality.

The Bangladesh News: You are aware that Bangladesh is celebrating the birth centenary of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman which will continue till December 2021; and will also celebrate 50 years of Bangladesh’s War of Liberation in 2021. How Turkey, as a true friend of Bangladesh, will join in these mega celebrations?

Mustafa Osman Turan: When I first came to Bangladesh one year ago, there was a big excitement about the Mujib Borsho and the celebration that was planned. Unfortunately after Covid, those celebrations could not take place. So, we are also expecting to participate in those celebrations. I think in March, there will be a few weeks of celebration which will also be extended until the end of the year and we are planning to bring some cultural groups, may be whirling Dervish, you know the group. In Turkey we have whirling Dervish, the Sufi Dervishes. They are very popular in Bangladesh. So, maybe we can bring those dervishes. We are looking into possibilities of organising other activities in the field of culture, academic studies. People can come, speak on common points about Bangabandhu and his principles that he followed when established Independence of Bangladesh. He was very much inspired by Kazi Nazrul Islam. Kazi Nazrul Islam was very much inspired by Kemal Atatürk. There is the link and we want to explore that further. There are some unknown facts about Kazi Nazrul Islam. Conversation with some of the people who know best about the work of Kazi Nazrul Islam can be on focus, for example. 

Hopefully, our president has been invited to visit Bangladesh by the honorable prime minister during this time. We are looking into the possible date but it will depend on the situation regarding Covid.

The Bangladesh News: Can we expect Turkish President's presence when we celebrate 50 years of independence on March 26?

Mustafa Osman Turan: Yes, we received a letter from honorable prime minister. Our ministry is checking if the Covid situation allows to participate. We also want him to come, because if he comes, obviously it will open a new page in our bilateral cooperation. When president visits, he always brings business people, some other ministers who can also develop some new areas of cooperation.

The Bangladesh News: Turkey is interested in building a hospital in Dhaka? Have you got any feedback from Bangladesh?

Mustafa Osman Turan: Yes, that idea was discussed when Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen visited Turkey. When he met our president, they discussed the possibility of establishing a Turkey hospital in Dhaka and since then we have been talking to Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Health and other parties. I think they are now trying to identify a piece of land that will be suitable for a hospital to be established. It will be a PPP project, and we want our private sector to be involved because in Turkey we have this model. We built many big hospitals with 5,000 beds in more than 15 cities. Just before pandemic, they were made operational. That's why we were very lucky to provide very good health care services. Turkey is one of the five top destinations for medical tourism in the world. So we attract a lot of patients from around the world. Because of the quality of our healthcare services, we have very good doctors, nurses and other health professionals. So we want them work in the hospital that we will establish in Bangladesh. If some patients can not be treated here, we can send them to Turkey through Turkish hospital. That's the idea. We are expecting to implement this project very soon.

At the hospital in Bangladesh, we will give quality healthcare at affordable costs as it will not be a luxurious hospital. It will be like mainstream hospital to provide health services to anyone. Also there is a need of setting such hospitals in different districts and we will start with one. Since this will be PPP model, it will be profitable for the investors. They can invest in other cities if it succeeds.

Bangladesh lacks experts in medical technicians and nurses. Once established, it will become a learning centre where Turkish doctors and nurses will work with Bangladeshi doctors and nurses. So, they will learn from each other. It's a mutual learning experience and thus they will develop new skills.

The Bangladesh News: Do you think the international community is doing enough to find a solution to the Rohingya crisis? How Turkey is playing its role to help The Gambia in ICJ?

Mustafa Osman Turan: Yes, that's right. Rohingya issue is an important agenda in our bilateral relations with Bangladesh because the country has been very generous to host more than 1.2 million Rohingyas who came in recent past, not only in 2017, but also earlier. Bangladesh opened its door to Rohingyas who were prosecuted in their country. Since they arrived in Bangladesh, as you know our first lady was one of the first international dignitaries to visit Bangladesh with our foreign minister in 2017 and since then our presence in Cox's Bazar has been very solid. We have a field hospital operating in the camps, providing medical care for more than one thousand patients every day. I am also pleased to know that 30 percent of them are the affected host communities, not just Rohingyas. Turkish doctors and nurses are giving them treatment. We already have a Turkish hospital in Bangladesh, in the camps but it's a field hospital operating in tents rather than buildings. It's the only hospital in the camp area at the moment. There was another one, but before pandemic it was closed. Our hospital is operated even during the pandemic with Turkish doctors and nurses. None of them went back to Turkey. Around thirty health professionals are working in our hospital. We provide humanitarian aid to the Rohingyas to support Bangladesh government through our various agencies. We provided lots of food assistance. We have some livelihood programmes where the beneficiaries produce soaps, women do sewing. We provided sewing machines, established community centers and health clinics. We do a lot in the camp area. 

We also do a lot in terms of political pressure which Bangladesh is trying to put together with international community on Myanmar to create the conditions for safe, dignified repatriation. We are hoping to see some positive results. We expect that repatriation will start soon. Obviously to put pressure on Myanmar, the legal proceedings in international court are very important. Turkey supports Gambia for their case brought against Myanmar in the International Court of Justice (IJC). We provide both financial and political supports.

The Bangladesh News: How do you evaluate the progress that Bangladesh made in the last 10 to 12 years? How can it reach the next level of development to build Sonar Bangla as dreamt by Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman? 

Mustafa Osman Turan: I think the progress made since Bangladesh has been established as an independent country is remarkable. It's a text book case for sustainable development. We all know that Bangladesh was referred to as the bottomless basket. The aid was coming but nothing was improving initially. But very quickly everything has changed. In the last ten years, everybody is very impressed. 

Bangladesh is one of the fastest growing economies in the world. In this region, it is one of the best economies for the sustainable development model and I think its GDP has doubled in the last 10 years. So it's quite impressive. The number of people living in poverty has been reduced dramatically-like from 40 percent to 20 percent now. So during pandemic, there was an upward trend in poverty percentage but this is just temporary. Bangladesh now is coping very well with pandemic and the economy is still growing. I think it will be possible to recover very quickly after the vaccination is wide spread and the economy is back on track, not only Bangladesh but around the world because it's not enough for Bangladesh to be safe, the whole world should open up for Bangladesh to be able to export its RMG products and other products.