In Istanbul, commerce minister seeks lower Turkish tariffs and more investment in Bangladesh

Commerce Minister Khandaker Abdul Muktadir has called for a reduction in the additional tariffs on Bangladeshi products in the Turkish market and for customs-related barriers to be removed. He also called for increased Turkish investment in Bangladesh's leather, non-leather goods, ready-made garment and shipbuilding sectors.

Muktadir made the call at a bilateral meeting with Turkish Trade Minister Omar Bolat in Istanbul on Sunday (November 1) local time. The meeting was held at the Hilton Hotel in Istanbul, according to a press release from the commerce ministry.

The commerce minister is visiting Turkey to attend the 42nd ministerial meeting of the Standing Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (COMCEC). The meeting with his Turkish counterpart took place on the sidelines of that visit.

The commerce ministry said the two sides discussed opportunities to expand trade and investment ties and the existing barriers. Muktadir raised the tariff and customs obstacles Bangladeshi goods face entering the Turkish market and sought Bolat's cooperation in removing those barriers and reducing the additional duties.

He also invited Turkish businesses to use the investment opportunities in Bangladesh's promising industrial sectors, and the two sides discussed taking the friendly relationship forward into a larger commercial partnership. Both sides showed a positive attitude on expanding bilateral trade and removing barriers, the ministry said. Senior officials of both countries were present at the meeting.

Turkey is a long-standing export market for Bangladesh, but exports to it have fallen over the past decade. According to the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), Bangladesh exported about $860 million worth of goods to Turkey in fiscal 2013-14 — its highest ever to that market — of which ready-made garments accounted for $622 million.

Bangladesh once enjoyed duty-free access to the Turkish market. When that facility was withdrawn and the tariff policy changed, exports took a big hit. In fiscal 2025-26 exports to Turkey stood at $593 million, down 6.5 percent from the previous fiscal year and still about 31 percent below the peak year.

The current fiscal year, however, has started well. Exports to Turkey in the July-September quarter exceeded $210 million, compared with $105.2 million in the same period of the previous fiscal year — a doubling. Ready-made garment exports rose even faster, by 123 percent.

Bangladesh mainly sells ready-made garments and jute goods to Turkey, while it imports textile machinery and chemicals from Turkey. Annual trade between the two countries is now about $1.3 billion, and both sides speak of a target of taking it to $2 billion. The issue was discussed during Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan's visit to Dhaka last June.