Turkey FM in Dhaka on two-day visit

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Türkiye Hakan Fidan will meet his Bangladesh counterpart Dr Khalilur Rahman in Dhaka today as the two countries look to expand strategic engagement alongside trade and investment ties.

The Turkish foreign minister is on a two-day visit to Bangladesh at the invitation of Khalilur, a senior official told the news agency, adding that bilateral issues, including trade, security and regional developments, would be discussed.

Fidan, who arrived in Dhaka last night, will also meet Prime Minister Tarique Rahman and visit the Rohingya camps in Cox’s Bazar.

The visit marks Fidan’s first trip to Bangladesh.

He is scheduled to inspect humanitarian assistance projects carried out by the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency, the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority, the Turkish Red Crescent, the Turkish Diyanet Foundation and Türkiye’s Health Ministry. He will also visit the Turkish Field Hospital operating in the camps.

The two sides are expected to discuss ways to further strengthen cooperation in trade, defence industry, energy, education, culture, science and health.

The two countries are keen to increase bilateral trade volume from $1.35 billion in 2025 to $2 billion.

Fidan and Khalilur held a bilateral meeting at the former’s office in Ankara on March 14.

Both sides expressed optimism that the outcomes of the meeting would help further strengthen cooperation and deepen the strategic partnership between Türkiye and Bangladesh in the years ahead.