With the aim of expanding bilateral trade, increasing investment and strengthening strategic partnership in the textile sector between Bangladesh and Turkey, Turkish Ambassador to Bangladesh Ramis Sen paid a courtesy call on BGMEA President Mahmud Hasan Khan today (Sunday), a press release said.
The meeting, held at the BGMEA Complex in Uttara, was led by BGMEA President Mahmud Hasan Khan and was attended by the organization’s Senior Vice President Enamul Haque Khan, Vice President (Finance) Mizanur Rahman, Director Shah Raed Chowdhury, Director Faisal Samad and Director Mohammad Sohel. The ambassador was also accompanied by the Commercial Counselor of the Turkish Embassy.
The meeting held fruitful discussions on various aspects of expanding trade, increasing investment cooperation and further strengthening economic relations between the two countries.
Highlights of the meeting:
The Turkish Ambassador emphasized the urgent visit of a high-level business delegation from BGMEA to Turkey with the aim of strengthening bilateral trade relations and expanding trade. The BGMEA President welcomed the proposal and said that Turkey is a very promising market for Bangladesh in product diversification, and this visit will inject new momentum into the trade cooperation between the two countries.
The BGMEA President called for joint investment in Bangladesh’s man-made fiber and technical textile sectors. He noted that Turkey’s strong refining capacity can play an important role in providing affordable raw materials for the Bangladeshi garment industry.
The meeting discussed the need to withdraw the ‘safeguard duty’ effective since 2011 and sign a Free Trade Agreement (FTA).
The technical aspects of getting duty-free benefits for garments manufactured using cotton imported from Turkey were also discussed. In this context, BGMEA expressed interest in importing organic cotton and modern textile machineries from Turkey.
The meeting also discussed the possibility of quickly supplying products to the international market by using the advanced logistics facilities of Turkish Airlines and Istanbul Airport.
The BGMEA President sought Turkey’s cooperation on the proposal to postpone Bangladesh’s LDC transition process.
In view of the BGMEA’s request, the Ambassador assured full cooperation on simplifying Turkey’s visa process for merchandisers working in the garment sector.
The meeting expressed hope that this strategic partnership with Turkey will play an important role in increasing the capacity of Bangladesh’s ready-made garment industry, expanding the market and achieving sustainable growth in the long term.
