Dhaka is set to host the fourth round of foreign secretary-level talks between Bangladesh and Turkey on Tuesday (7 October), marking the first such meeting in over five years.

Bangladesh’s Foreign Secretary Asad Alam Siam and Deputy Foreign Minister of Turkey A Beris Ekinci

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

The discussions will focus on strengthening political relations, expanding trade and investment, and transforming growing defence cooperation into strategic partnership. Other areas on the agenda include energy, agriculture, education, culture and information technology, reports Bengali daily Prothom Alo.

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

During his stay, the Turkish deputy foreign minister is also expected to call on Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus, Foreign Affairs Adviser Md Touhid Hossain, and several other key advisers of the interim government. He is also likely to meet leaders of the BNP, Jamaat-e-Islami and National Citizen Party (NCP).

The meeting comes amid growing high-level exchanges 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 officials have made several trips to Ankara.