Dhaka To Host Bangladesh–Turkey Foreign Secretary-Level Talks

Dhaka is set to host the fourth round of foreign secretary-level talks between Bangladesh and Turkey on Tuesday, marking the first such meeting in over five years.

Bangladesh’s Foreign Secretary Asad Alam Siam will lead the discussions on behalf of Dhaka, while Turkey will be represented by Deputy Foreign Minister A. Beris Ekinci, who is due to arrive in the capital on 6 October for a two-day visit. The meeting will be held at the state guest house Padma.

Talks are expected to centre on strengthening political ties, boosting trade and investment, and advancing defence cooperation towards a strategic partnership. Other agenda items include collaboration in energy, agriculture, education, culture, and information technology, according to a report by Prothom Alo.

Diplomatic sources said Turkey will be the third country to hold foreign secretary-level talks with Bangladesh since last year’s political transition following the July–August uprising. Similar dialogues were previously held with India in December and Pakistan in April.

During his visit, the Turkish deputy foreign minister is also expected to meet Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus, Foreign Affairs Adviser Md Touhid Hossain, and several other senior advisers of the interim government. He is also likely to hold meetings with leaders of the BNP, Jamaat-e-Islami, and the National Citizens’ Party (NCP).

The meeting comes amid growing high-level engagement between the two countries. In recent months, senior Turkish officials — including the trade minister and the head of Turkey’s defence industries authority — have visited Dhaka, while Bangladeshi delegations have made multiple trips to Ankara.