Bangladesh, Turkey bilateral trade to reach $1b

Dhaka: The bilateral trade between Bangladesh and Turkey would be raised to US$ 1.0 billion in the next one year from the present level of US$ 300 million, Turkish Ambassador to Bangladesh Sakir Ozkan Torunlar said.

“The government of Turkey is actively considering introducing Dhaka-Istanbul direct air flight to achieve the target,” he told Chief Adviser's Special Assistant for Industries, Civil Aviation and Tourism Mahbub Jamil at the Bangladesh Secretariat.

They also discussed issues relating to bilateral cooperation in other areas, including tourism and infrastructure, between the two countries.

Sakir said the two countries could cooperate with each other to tap the economic and trade potentials of Bangladesh. He apprised the Special Assistant of specialised skills of Turkish entrepreneurs in the areas of airport, deep seaport, communication infrastructure and construction.

Jamil invited Turkish entrepreneurs to invest in the construction sector of Bangladesh to take advantage of the country's cheaper workers.

He apprised the Turkish envoy that there is no procedural bottleneck to introduce direct air flight between the two cities and said the direct flight would help promote the tourism industry of both the Countries.