Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Bangladeshi Prime Minister Khaleda Zia held a joint news conference in Ankara during Zia's two-day state visit to Türkiye in April 2006.
Erdoğan expressed gratitude for Bangladesh's support of Türkiye during its War of Independence, calling the historical bond a foundation for deeper cooperation. He acknowledged recent progress in bilateral political and economic relations but said both sides still had significant ground to cover.
On trade, Erdoğan noted that two-way commerce reached 190 million USD by the close of 2005 and outlined plans to grow that figure through reciprocal visits, business participation in Bangladeshi trade fairs, and backing for Turkish contractors seeking to invest there.
Erdoğan identified several sectors with concrete potential for expanded cooperation, including defense, textiles, ready-made garments, and food manufacturing. He said initiatives in those areas were already underway and needed to move forward quickly.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this wire report, first published in April 2006, in its own words.