The key facts

  • The meeting between Erdogan and Tariq Rahman took place on November 10 on the sidelines of COP31 in Antalya
  • Erdogan said efforts would continue to keep the situation of about 1 million Rohingya in Cox's Bazar camps in international attention
  • Separately, the first ladies Erdogan and Zubaida Rahman met — on climate justice and Zero Waste

Meeting on the sidelines of the climate summit

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with Bangladeshi Prime Minister Tariq Rahman on Tuesday, November 10, on the sidelines of the UN climate change conference COP31, which Turkey is hosting this year in the southern city of Antalya. According to Turkey's Directorate of Communications, the meeting focused on bilateral relations and regional issues, Anadolu reports.

Trade, defense and the Rohingya

Erdogan said that it is in the interest of Turkey and Bangladesh to continue expanding cooperation in various fields, primarily in trade and the defense industry. He also noted that Ankara continues to work to keep the humanitarian situation in Cox's Bazar, where about 1 million Rohingya are held in camps, in the focus of international attention.

Bangladesh's climate agenda

According to Erdogan, Bangladesh acutely feels the consequences of climate change, and meeting the country's needs in flood management and resilient infrastructure projects is one of the key issues of COP31. He added that Turkey expects its 'Climate Implementation Bridge' initiative to help address such challenges. The meeting was also attended by Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and the President's foreign policy and security adviser Akif Çağatay Kılıç.

Meeting of the first ladies

Separately, the president's wife Emine Erdogan met with the wife of the Bangladeshi prime minister, Zubaida Rahman. She later wrote on the Turkish social network NSosyal that they 'discussed the importance of global cooperation in advancing climate justice, sustainable development and the Zero Waste goals.' The meeting was also attended by the president of the Zero Waste Foundation and COP31 Climate Champion Samed Ağırbaş. The Turkish president's wife promotes the zero waste initiative both in Turkey and at the UN.