Turkey eyes $3 bln trade volume with Bangladesh

In his address at the Bangladeshi Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry in Dhaka on Sunday, Erdogan said Bangladesh was a promising country for development with its young population, but it had to tap into its rich natural resources to make it happen.

"When you introduce full transparency to the public tenders you will see that confidence will be enhanced. It is not possible to get anywhere with a statist approach," said Erdogan.

Erdogan said he believed Bangladeshi government would manage to turn the country into a center of attraction, adding that Turkey was ready to share its experience and know how. Erdogan said the trade volume between the two countries, rose 14 folds since 2002 from $47 million to $658 million.

He said the trade volume in the last three quarters has been $742 million. "I hope the foreign trade volume between the two countries will reach 1 billion by the end of this year. We have laid down a new target for the trade volume: We aim to boost it up to $3 billion until 2015," Erdogan said.

Premier Erdogan said Turkish contractor sector which ranked 2nd after China, did not undertake any projects in Dhaka. He said there were many things to be accomplished in Bangladesh in terms of infrastructure and superstructures.

"We need to do what Bangladesh deserves. We alone can accomplish this. We have accomplished this in Turkey and now Turkey is a different country. We can undertake these investments jointly with Bangladesh," said Erdogan.

Erdogan also called for close cooperation between Turkish and Bangladeshi businessmen. Referring to the agreement signed between the two countries in 1987 for the reciprocal promotion and protection of investments, Erdogan said it was unfortunately not enforced and it should be renewed at the earliest convenience.


/World Bulletin/