News Archive
Turkey offers Bangladesh $1bn – with strings
Released on 15/02/2010
Turkey’s private asset management firm RHEA has offered a US$1-bn conditional loan to Bangladesh for winning infrastructure deals, Reuters reports.
RHEA also pledged a $5 million donation for healthcare and educational projects in Bangladesh if the government gives work orders to Turkish builders for building flyovers and bridges.
Turkish President Abdullah Gul (pictured) traveled to Bangladesh with a group of Turkish traders to announce the offer.
“The loan will be forwarded only when the government agrees to allow Turkish builders to construct the infrastructures,” Annisul Huq, president of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) told reporters.
The stance of the Bangladesh government was not known immediately on the pre-condition for the loan, but Reuters reported that finance ministry officials said the government might accept the offer because it is eager to build flyovers in Dhaka and elsewhere.
Gul, the first Turkish president to visit Bangladesh since 1999, arrived in Dhaka on Friday February 12, with an entourage of some 180 people, mostly businessmen and entrepreneurs.
Reuters notes that Turkey, frustrated by the slow progress of its bid to join the European Union, has seeking for new markets for its growing economy.
