16 August 2017•Update: 16 August 2017
By Alam
ANKARA
The embassy here on Tuesday observed Bangladesh’s National Mourning Day and the 42nd anniversary of the assassination of the Father of the Nation.
Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the country’s first prime minister, was assassinated along with family and relatives, just four years after the country gained independence.
He is considered the main architect of the country’s independence as the leading figure of the independence war against Pakistan in 1971.
“We lost the father of the nation on Aug. 15, 1975, however, we have not lost his dream,” Bangladesh Ambassador to Ankara M. Allama Siddiki told the crowd of about 150 guests.
He said Sheikh Mujib was a very powerful man who dreamed of a better Bangladesh with peace and prosperity. “He was a dreamer, he was a visionary, and he had an extraordinary capacity to establish link with his people.”
Sheikh Mujib, as he is referred to in Bangladesh, was a very “practical” and “pragmatic” man and extended friendship to all countries, even those that opposed his country’s independence, according to .
That pragmatic example is followed by the current government that tries to follow the sheik’s policy of “peaceful coexistence” with other nations around the globe, said.
Dhaka’s relations with Ankara, which was strained in recent years, will be revived, according to the ambassador, who indicated significant developments would occur soon.
“I am sure about a very positive time that is coming within a couple of . In terms of economic cooperation, we hope a bright future for each other,” he said, adding that high-level visits between two countries were highly likely.
He emphasized Turkey and Bangladesh are brotherly countries despite their physical distance from each other.
The event at the embassy began with a minute of silence for Sheikh Mujib that was followed by a short documentary on his life.
Also attending the ceremony was Gurol Baba from Ankara Social Sciences University's International Relationships, along with Anadolu Agency’s Chief Editor of the Foreign Language Section Mehmet Ozturk, a number of academics and Bangladeshi expatriates.
Baba drew similarities between the diplomatic priorities and practices of the founding fathers of the two countries.
“Bangabandhu [Sheikh Mujib] practiced the quiet similar diplomatic practices that Mustafa Kemal Ataturk followed. Both leaders’ views to the global diplomacy are similar,” Baba said as he highlighted diplomacy between the two countries and noted Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s visit to Bangladesh in 2010 helped boost bilateral relations.
Trade volume has since increased to $1 billion since but is still off from the desired $3 billion target, Baba said, despite the diplomatic row concerning the execution of the leaders of the Bangladesh Jamaat-e- on charges of committing crimes against humanity during the war in 1971.
Baba believed the $3 billion target would be reached in a short period of time.
