Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met Tuesday with Bangladesh's Prime Minister Tarique Rahman on the sidelines of COP31, the UN Climate Change Conference, which Türkiye is hosting this year in the southern Turkish city of Antalya.
The meeting focused on Türkiye-Bangladesh relations and regional issues, the Turkish Communications Directorate said.
Erdogan said Türkiye and Bangladesh would benefit from continuing to take steps to expand cooperation in various fields, particularly trade and the defense industry.
The Turkish president also said Ankara is continuing its efforts to ensure that the humanitarian situation in Cox's Bazar remains in the international spotlight, referring to the some 1 million Rohingya in refugee camps there.
Noting that Bangladesh is feeling the effects of climate change closely, Erdogan said addressing the country's needs for projects in such areas such as flood management and resilient infrastructure is among the key topics of the COP31 climate conference.
He added that Türkiye expects its "Climate Implementation Bridge" initiative to help resolve such challenges.
Also attending the meeting were Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Akif Cagatay Kilic, the president's chief foreign policy and security adviser.
Separately, first lady Emine Erdogan, the president's wife, met with her Bangladeshi counterpart Zubaida Rahman, the prime minister's wife, as part of the COP31 conference.
Afterwards, Emine Erdogan wrote on Turkish social media platform NSosyal that they "discussed the importance of global cooperation in advancing climate justice, sustainable development and Zero Waste goals."
The Turkish first lady has spearheaded zero waste efforts both in Türkiye and at the United Nations.
Samed Agirbas, president of the Zero Waste Foundation and COP31 Climate Champion, also attended the meeting.
