Bangladesh and Türkiye Edge Closer to Defence Industrial Collaboration

Reading Time: 4 minutes In a tangible sign of Bangladesh’s expanding ambitions in the defence industrial sphere, Ashik Chowdhury, Executive Chairman of the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA), recently led a high-level delegation to the headquarters of Türkiye’s state-owned defence heavyweight, Makine ve Kimya Endüstrisi (MKE), in Kırıkkale. Far from a mere courtesy call, the visit represented a strategic manoeuvre by Dhaka to lay the groundwork for deeper defence-industrial engagement with Ankara—rooted in co-production, technology transfer, and long-term capacity building. The BIDA delegation was granted rare access to MKE’s manufacturing floors, testing grounds, and classified briefings covering its core competencies in artillery systems, energetics, and small arms. In extended closed-door sessions, both sides engaged in in-depth discussions around structured cooperation, with a strong emphasis on shifting from a buyer-seller paradigm to one of mutual industrial integration. MKE—whose lineage can be traced back to the early republican period in Türkiye—has today