Busts of Bangabandhu, Kemal Ataturk to be unveiled simultaneously soon: FM

Busts of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in Ankara and the Bust of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk will be unveiled simultaneously at an appropriate date and time in the near future.

Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen said this while inaugurating the newly built Embassy of Turkey in Dhaka jointly with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Wednesday.

Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen and Turkish Ambassador to Bangladesh Mustafa Osman Turan were present.

"These two events have brought us one step forward in our excellent bilateral relations," Dr Momen said.

He recalled with admiration Father of the Nation of modern Turkey Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. "Our Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was greatly inspired by Atatürk when he led the Bangali nation to statehood in 1971 through our War of Independence."

Dr Momen said Bangabandhu's dictum, "Friendship to all, malice to none" since Bangladesh's independence has been the bedrock of foreign policy which carries commendable similarity with the official foreign policy motto of the Republic of Turkey coined by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk which is "Peace at home, Peace in the world".

The Foreign Minister thanked the government and the friendly people of Turkey for the most generous support and cooperation extended to Bangladesh over the years and most significantly for being a true and a reliable friend in particular on the issues concerning the Rohingyas.

"Let me assure the Government and the people of Turkey of our firm commitment to working closely with growing trust and confidence as we strive to strengthen relations between our two countries towards common goals and prosperity," he said.

The Turkish Foreign Minister who arrived here on Tuesday evening, left here for home on Thursday evening.