The Turkish government has offered the Bangladesh Armed Forces all out cooperation in achieving the Forces Goal 2030 blueprint concerning defence modernisation and expansion.
Visiting Turkish Foreign Minister H.E. Mr Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu has offered quality military hardware as well as technology to manufacture those in Bangladesh at affordable prices and with favourable terms.
The Turkish government senior official stated his country will never attach any condition to the use of the military hardware supplied by Turkish companies to the Bangladesh Armed Forces.
Turkish defence equipment manufacturers are selling military equipment to the Bangladesh Armed Forces, which are payable through instalments. This has allowed Bangladesh to absorb more military hardware in a shorter time.
Turkish equipment offers NATO standard quality, lower prices as well as reliable support throughout the life of programmes.
Today Turkey is producing 75% of its military equipment requirements indigenously. It hopes to facilitate transfer of technology to develop the defence industries of Bangladesh.
The Bangladesh military is interested to procure Turkish-made aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles, attack helicopters, air defence systems, armoured vehicles, artillery systems, small to medium sized naval warships, combat engineer equipment, electronic warfare systems, radio communications equipment, munitions and sensors.
The Bangladesh Army has already awarded several major contracts to Turkish defence companies such as ROKETSAN and ASELSAN for the supply of intermediate range guided rocket/missile systems and medium-range surface-to-air missile systems. Bangladesh Army personnel have been sent to Turkey to receive advanced training in this regard.
During his state visit to Bangladesh H.E. Mr Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu held meetings with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Bangladesh Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen. The Turkish Foreign Minister visited Bangladesh to inaugurate the newly built Turkish Embassy and set out cooperation road map in defence and healthcare sector. Bangladesh and Turkey aim to double the two-way trade to at least $2 billion annually.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is likely to visit Bangladesh next year to celebrate Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s centenary celebrations.
