Prime Minister Tarique Rahman is scheduled to meet Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Antalya, Turkey, on Tuesday, marking another step towards strengthening diplomatic ties between Dhaka and Ankara.
The two leaders are expected to meet at 6:30pm local time at the Maxx Royal Hotel in Antalya, according to diplomatic sources in Dhaka.
The meeting comes amid growing high-level engagement between the two countries since the BNP government assumed office in February. Reciprocal visits by the foreign ministers, the Bangladesh army chief's visit to Turkey and increased diplomatic communication have contributed to closer bilateral relations.
Prime Minister Tarique Rahman left Dhaka for Antalya on Tuesday morning to attend the UN Climate Change Conference (COP31), scheduled for November 10-12. He will lead the Bangladesh delegation and address the conference's plenary session on November 12.
On the sidelines of the summit, the prime minister may also hold bilateral meetings with leaders of several countries.
This will be Tarique Rahman's second meeting with Erdogan since becoming prime minister.
Their first meeting took place on September 22 at the Turkish House in New York on the sidelines of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly. During the meeting, Erdogan called for giving bilateral relations a stronger institutional foundation, with particular emphasis on expanding cooperation in the defence industry and increasing bilateral trade.
Earlier, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan visited Dhaka in early June and paid a courtesy call on Prime Minister Tarique Rahman on the final day of his visit.
During the meeting, Fidan described his visit as the first step towards elevating relations between the two countries to a strategic level.
Following the engagement, the two sides announced plans to establish joint committees at the ministerial level on defence and foreign affairs. They also agreed to hold annual meetings between the foreign ministers and regular consultations involving the foreign and defence ministers.
Bangladesh Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman held a joint press conference with Fidan during the visit and thanked Turkey for supporting Bangladesh's bid for the presidency of the 81st UN General Assembly.
Defence cooperation has also gained momentum in recent years.
In July, Bangladesh Army Chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman visited Turkey on a five-day official trip. Discussions during the visit covered bilateral defence cooperation, military training, defence technology, defence industry collaboration, capacity building and other issues of mutual interest.
Both sides expressed interest in expanding professional relations, experience-sharing and defence cooperation between their armed forces. As part of the visit, the army chief also toured leading Turkish defence industries and military technology institutions.
The Rohingya issue is another important subject in Bangladesh-Turkey relations. During their New York meeting, Erdogan praised Bangladesh for sheltering more than one million Rohingya refugees and expressed his country's commitment to continuing humanitarian assistance in areas including shelter, education and infrastructure.
High-level diplomatic engagement between the two countries has increased since the BNP government took office in February. Turkey was represented by Deputy Foreign Minister Berris Ekinci at the swearing-in ceremony on February 17.
Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman chose Turkey for his first bilateral overseas visit after assuming office, travelling there on March 14. During his meeting with Fidan in Ankara, the two countries signed a memorandum of understanding between their diplomatic training institutions.
Khalilur Rahman also attended the Antalya Diplomacy Forum from April 17 to 19, before Fidan made his first visit to Dhaka in June.
The upcoming meeting between Tarique Rahman and Erdogan is expected to further strengthen political, economic and defence ties between the two countries.
