Even as the Bangladesh Army continues to procure military hardware from China, decision makers at the country’s industrial development authority or BIDA have evinced strong interest in building defence industrial complexes in Chittagong and Narayanganj with Turkish collaboration.
This was discussed at length by BIDA Executive Chairman Chowdhury Ashik Mahmud Bin Harun with his Turkish hosts 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. It is said that 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.
This is not the first time that Bangladesh has engaged with MKE. These acquisitions centred around the MKE Boran 105mm howitzers, 18 pieces of which were procured late last year with plans to expand the total units to 200 in the future, and the TRG-230/300 rocket systems. Besides, Dhaka has been exploring purchasing the Turkish-made Otokar Tulpar light tanks.
Defence ties between Bangladesh and Turkey deepened in 2018 when as many as 15 different types of military hardware, including the Bayraktar TB2 drones, were procured from Turkish manufacturers.
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.
There are reports that 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”.
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This is not the first time that Bangladesh has made moves to have defence ties with Turkey. In the past, especially during Sheikh Hasina’s tenure as prime minister, the Bangladesh defence forces, especially the Army, procured military hardware, including artillery and mortar pieces.
