Turkish Ambassador to Bangladesh Mustafa Osman Turan on Wednesday said his country has no political conditions attached as it sells defence equipment to Bangladesh or other countries.
“Turkey always provides maintenance, spare parts and there are no political conditions attached…we see this as a long term partnership, we see this as reflection of our deep level of political relationship as well,” he said, mentioning that there is a long-term defence partnership with Bangladesh.
The Turkish envoy made the remarks during an interaction with the members of the Diplomatic Correspondents Association, Bangladesh (DCAB) at the Turkish Embassy.
DCAB Vice President Md Mahfuzur Rahman Mishu and General Secretary AKM Moinuddin also spoke at the event.
Ambassador Turan said Turkey has made big progress in defence industry in the last 15 years against the backdrop that the advanced economies always attached some political conditions when it came to defence purchase and that is something that prompted Turkey to be self-sufficient.
“We’re able to be self-sufficient in 75 percent of our defence industry. We can manufacture almost anything,” he said, adding that Bangladesh and Turkey have a comprehensive defence partnership.
The Ambassador said Turkey had delivered Multi-Launcher Rockets to Bangladesh and that it is keen to have joint ventures including in ship building.
Asked about specific defence equipment, the Ambassador said there are several conversations between various Turkish companies and Bangladesh counterparts. So I’m not able to give any specific details of the products.”
The Turkish chief of Naval Force will visit Bangladesh at the end of this month and Turkish President Erdogan is also likely to visit Bangladesh at a time convenient to both sides.
Ambassador Turan said the trade between the two countries was $850 million two years back but now it has risen to $1.2 billion. The two countries have a target to take the bilateral trade volume to $3 billion.
The Turkish envoy said Bangladesh has become an important player in Asia, with its rising economy and the geostrategic location.
Bangladesh can increase its exports to Turkey in the areas of IT services, pharmaceutical products, jute and even readymade garments, he said.
Source: United News of Bangladesh