<div style="text-align: justify; "><span style="font-size: 1rem;"><b>Turkish Ambassador Mustafa Osman Turan on Wednesday said holding a free and fair election in Bangladesh is not an issue for foreigners, it depends entirely on Bangladesh.</b></span><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">“It’s only for Bangladesh to decide, not for foreigners,” he said while speaking at a “Meet the Ambassador” programme in a Dhaka hotel.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Turkish ambassador said political parties need to meet and address their differences, and that government alone cannot do everything required.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Responding to a question, Ambassador Turan said they see Bangladesh as a “trustworthy manufacturing hub”, and it is going to be their prominent partner in the region.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The envoy said Turkey plans to diversify their trade and investment in Bangladesh.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Asked about Turkish plans to develop strategic relations with Bangladesh, he said the plans should be mutually agreed upon.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The ambassador said relations between Bangladesh and Turkey is based on trust and they look forward to broadening partnership with Bangladesh.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Zillur Rahman, Executive Director of the Centre for Governance Studies, moderated the programme.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Centre for Governance Studies (CGS) hosted the event in collaboration with the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) Bangladesh. UNB</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">bnbd24/kh</div>