As part of its continuing drive to build strong military ties with Turkey, Bangladesh Air Chief Marshal Hasan Mahmud Khan has readily accepted a formal invitation from his Turkish counterpart to visit Istanbul between October 1 and 5.
ACM Khan will be accompanied by three other BAF officers, including Group Captain B M Hasan, Squadron Leader Ismat Ara Begum and Flight Lieutenant Ha-mim Muhammad Mushfique Hossain.
All four BAF officers will visit Turkey on the invitation of Turkish Air Force (Türk Hava Kuvvetleri) chief General Ziya Cemal Kadıoğlu.
This would ACM Khan’s second visit to Turkey within two months.
He was in Istanbul in the third week of July 2025 when he attended the 17th International Defence Industry Fair held there between July 22 and 27.
Since the Muhammad Yunus-led interim regime took over power on August 5, 2024, there have been a series of frequent visits to Turkey by senior Bangladeshi military officers.
Among the first to meet Turkish military and security officers was Bangladesh DGFI chief Major General Jahangir Alam.
Maj Gen Alam was in Spain in early April 2024 for an international conference of intelligence chiefs of several countries, including Turkey and Pakistan.
He is said to have exclusively met the head of Turkey’s Milli Istihbarat Teskilati or the National Intelligence Organization and explored the possibilities of greater military cooperation between the two countries, including purchase of equipment for intelligence gathering.
In May, decision makers at Bangladesh Industrial Development Authority (BIDA) evinced strong interest in building defence industrial complexes in Chittagong and Narayanganj with Turkish collaboration.
In late May this year, BIDA Executive Chairman Chowdhury Ashik Mahmud Bin Harun met Turkish officials during a five-day visit to that country.
Harun’s trip included a visit to the government-owned Makine ve Kimya Endustrisi (MKE) located at Kirikkale in Turkey’s Central Anatolia region.
Harun’s visit was aimed at developing deeper strategic defence ties with Turkey aimed at co-production, technology transfer and capacity building.
Harun and his other BIDA colleagues were “granted rare access” to MKE’s manufacturing floors, test grounds and classified briefings on artillery systems, energetics and small arms.
On July 21, Air Marshal Khan left for Istanbul to hold a meeting with his counterpart and discuss the possibilities of acquiring naval assets.
Close on the heels of ACM Khan’s visit to the Turkish capital, Bangladesh Anvy chief Admiral Mohammad Nazmul Hassan also visited Istanbul between July 22 and 25.
The Turkey visits of Air Marshal Mahmood Khan and Admiral Hassan follow the arrival in Dhaka of the country’s Defence Industry Secretary Haluk Gorgun to Dhaka on July 8.
At that time, Gorgun met General Waker-uz-Zaman, Air Chief Marshal Hasan Mahmood Khan and Admiral Mohammad Nazmul Hassan.
Gorgun’s visit followed meetings between the BIDA Executive Chairman with his Turkish hosts during a five-day visit to that country in May this year.
While Air Marshal Khan’s visit this time will be centred around potential defence acquisitions, whose details sources were wary to disclose at this stage, there are indications that the Bangladesh armed forces is aiming to finalise procurement of Bayraktar TB2 drones from Turkey.
Bangladesh already possesses several Bayraktar TB2 drones but is keen to enlarge its UAV fleet.
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While the latest engagement with MKE is expected to boost industrial integration, any future defence collaboration would be governed by the Bangladesh Economic Zones Act 2010.
This legislation offers investors a slew of incentives, including tax holidays, duty exemptions and “operational latitude”.
With such incentives, BIDA is said to be evaluating “dedicated defence industrial clusters” in Chittagong and Narayanganj, which have port facilities or are close to river channels linked to the Bay of Bengal.
MKE is expected to send technical evaluation teams to Bangladesh to conduct site surveys at these two locations.
Bangladesh and Turkey are prepared to enter into formal negotiations for a realising a memorandum of understanding besides institutionalising a Defence Industrial Working Group which will supervise and manage “planning, policy alignment and execution”
