Turkish Erdogan's son Bilal on quiet Dhaka visit after Tarique Rahman sworn in as Bangladesh PM

New Delhi: Bilal Erdogan, son of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, arrived in Dhaka on Wednesday morning - less than 24 hours after the swearing-in of the Tarique Rahman-led government - in what appears to signal expanding links between Ankara and Islamist groups in Bangladesh.

Bilal landed on a private aircraft accompanied by former footballer Mesut Ozil and Abdullah Aaron, chairman of Turkey's state-backed aid agency TIKA.

The delegation inaugurated a newly built medical centre at Dhaka University. The project was funded by TIKA after Jamaat-e-Islami's student wing, Islami Chhatra Shibir, secured victory in the Dhaka University Central Students Union elections. Chhatra Shibir leader Sadiq Kayem said the visit reflected "a friendship that goes beyond protocol."


Erdogan is also scheduled to visit the Rohingya refugee camps in Cox's Bazar. The timing of the visit - immediately after the BNP government assumed office - is being seen as politically significant, particularly amid Turkey's growing engagement with Jamaat.