Turkish investors are keen to establish their own economic zone in Bangladesh with huge investments in energy, health care, ICT, textile and agri-processing sectors, said Turkey's Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEIK) President Nail Olpak.
His made the remark at a webinar tiled ‘Turkey and Bangladesh: A New Era in Investment and Trade’, co-hosted by Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) and DEIK on Thursday.
Mr. Nail said “We are proud to see many prominent Turkish companies have already been investing to Bangladesh and we hope to see more in near-future”.
Prime Minister’s Private Industry and Investment Adviser Salman Fazlur Rahman was present at the webinar as Chief Guest.
Turkish Ambassador to Bangladesh Mustafa Osman Turan and Bangladeshi Ambassador to Turkey Mosud Mannan also spoke on the occasion.
The webinar was moderated by BIDA Executive Chairman Md. Sirazul Islam.
Over 170 private sector participants have joined the webinar to attract Turkish investments.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr Salman said Dhaka is delighted to be a key partner under Turkey’s ‘Asia Anew’ initiative.
Bangladesh offers highly suitable opportunities for Turkish businesses in agro-processing, RMG, textile, health, ICT, construction and infrastructure sectors, he insists.
"Early investors will reap the benefits available in Bangladesh. The Turkish government will continue to facilitate and support public-private and B2B partnerships in the coming period," said Mr Mustafa Osman Turan.
Sheikh Fazle Fahim, President of Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FBCCI), and Hülya Gedik, Chairperson of DEİK Bangladesh-Turkey Business Council addressed the event.
Can Dincer, Chief Commercial Officer of Arcelik Global and Gökhan Tezel, Chief Executive Officer, Aygaz, shared their experience as existing investors.
Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority (BEZA) Executive Chairman Paban Chowdhury, Bangladesh Hi-Tech Park Authority Managing Director (Secretary) Hosne Ara, Public-Private Partnership Authority (PPPA) Chief Executive Officer (Secretary) Sultana Afroz and BIDA Director (Registration and Incentives – Foreign Industry) Shah Mahboob gave featured presentations at the function.
Nuzhat Anwar, Acting Country Manager (Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal) of International Finance Corporation, which provided technical assistance for the webinar, also addressed the event.
The webinar follows Foreign Minister A.K. Abdul Momen’s meeting with Turkish President Erdogan in Ankara last year.
BIDA will work with DEIK to organise sector-specific B2B sessions in the coming days, according to a statement.
