Eleven Bangladeshi and six Turkish companies have come together to establish the new Bangladesh-Türkiye Business Forum (BTBF) at a meeting hosted by the Turkish embassy in Dhaka.
BTBF will solidify support for bilateral trade, investments, and cultural encounters and act as an advocacy platform promoting bilateral relations between Bangladesh and Türkiye.
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The forum's founding members are: BTBF Chairperson Rubana Huq, managing director of Mohammadi Group and vice chancellor of Asian University for Women (AUW); Co-Chairperson Salahuddin Kasem Khan, chairman of the EC of board of AK Khan & Co Ltd; Deputy Chairperson Kazi Zahedul Hasan, founder and managing director of Kazi Farms Group; Secretary General Ercüment Polat, CEO of the United Aygaz LPG Ltd; Alihussain Akberali, chairman of BSRM; Anjan Chowdhury, key stakeholder of Square Group; Abul Khair Litu, chairman of Bengal Group Ltd and founder of Bengal Foundation; Enayetullah Khan, founder and managing director of Cosmos Group; Mohamed Haniffa Mohamed Fairoz, CEO and managing director of Singer Bangladesh Ltd; Moinuddin Hasan Rashid, chairman and managing director of United Group; Mirza Salman Ispahani, chairman and managing director of MM Ispahani Ltd; Sk Nasir Uddin, chairman of Akij Group; Emrah Karaca, country manager of Turkish Airlines in Bangladesh; Hakan Altınışık, director of technology and innovation at Arçelik; Mehmet Yıldız, administrative and financial specialist at NKY Architects & Engineers; Muhammed Çağrı Ünal, construction coordinator at EPİK Holding, and Özgür Türk, country director of LCWaikiki.
Rubana Huq, following her election as the BTBF chairperson, said: "May this forum strengthen bilateral ties, expedite connections and optimise potential. The business to business and people to people connect will surely offer more opportunities to explore at both our ends."
BTBF will soon be legally constituted to perform its activities through its working groups on trade, investment and cultural activities.
A research and data cell will also be created within its secretariat to develop collaboration with experts and relevant institutions, the Turkish embassy said in a statement.
Gender balance will be encouraged in the membership and leadership structure of BTBF, it added.
Salahuddin Kasem Khan, as the BTBF co-chairperson and honorary consul general of Türkiye in Chattogram, said: "The Forum is significant as some of the oldest and largest corporates of Bangladesh and Türkiye are represented."
"Since both are members of D-8 Organization for Economic Cooperation, Bangladesh can evolve as a hub for Turkish companies in the Bay of Bengal region and Türkiye for Bangladeshi companies in the EU & the Central Asian regions."
Turkish ambassadors in Dhaka will be patrons of BTBF while honorary consul generals of Türkiye in Bangladesh will be honorary members of the executive board, the statement added.
Mustafa Osman Turan, Türkiye ambassador to Bangladesh, has expressed his pleasure about the decision of the 17 Bangladeshi and Turkish companies to unite their forces for the mutual benefit of both of their countries.
"From now on, there is a new powerful business platform who will rebrand Türkiye in Bangladesh and Bangladesh in Türkiye so that our people can get to know each other better and tap into their full potential through partnerships and joint projects," the ambassador told the founding members at their meeting.
A BTBF delegation is planning to visit Türkiye in September 2022 to meet with the Turkish government and business representatives and to explore opportunities for collaboration.