Turkish envoy meets Fakhrul, talks about next polls

Turkish Ambassador to Bangladesh Mustafa Osman Turan on Sunday met BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and discussed various issues, including the next national election here.

Turan along with Kemal Burak Temizel, deputy head of mission at the Turkish Embassy, arrived at the BNP chairperson’s Gulshan office at 11am and had a 'closed-door' meeting there with a BNP delegation, led by Fakhrul, reports UNB.

Later, BNP standing committee member Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury, who was present at the meeting, briefed reporters.

“The overall situation in Bangladesh has been discussed. We have discussed issues like Bangladesh’s elections, human rights, rule of law and some other issues,” he said.

Asked what Turkish envoys said about Bangladesh’s election and the current situation, the BNP leader parried the question, saying it is a confidential matter.

Replying to another question, he said they highlighted their position about the next election at the meeting.

“We have presented our position in line with what we say publicly. There’s nothing to hide here…there is nothing special to be said about the situation in Bangladesh as everyone knows about it. It’s needless to say,” the BNP leader said.

He also said they also discussed improving the relations between the two countries further. “We also discussed the Rohingya issue,” he said.

Khosru said Turkey has taken a far-sighted initiative on the Rohingya issue and recalled that Turkey's First Lady Emine Erdogan visited the Rohingya camp in Bangladesh with some ministers in September 2017.

Khosru also appreciated Turkey for highlighting the Rohingya issue to the global community with due importance.

Earlier on March 17, German Ambassador to Bangladesh Achim Troster had a two-hour ‘closed-door’ meeting with Fakhrul at the same venue.