Dhaka: Turkish Ambassador to Bangladesh Devrim Ozturk on Saturday urged the Bangladesh government to eliminate all the activities of 'terrorist outfit FETO' and its affiliates in the country.

"We expect the Bangladeshi government to eliminate all the activities of FETO and its affiliates in the country," he said adding that this 'terrorist organisation' continues to work for its clandestine agenda in many countries, including Bangladesh.

Ambassador Devrim Ozturk made the remarks while talking to reporters commemorating the first anniversary of the thwarted coup attempt in Turkey on July 15, 2016.

He said they rigorously work with their Bangladeshi counterparts in their common fight against terrorism. "We've very good cooperation in security and fighting terrorism but we don't have a concrete agreement to combat terrorism."

Ambassador Devrim Ozturk claimed FETO is a terrorist organisation and it is recognised as a terrorist organisation by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the Asian Parliamentary Assembly (APA), both of which Bangladesh is a member, reports news agency UNB.

"We're determined to fight FETÖ with three things that they despise most: the rule of law, morality, and democracy," the diplomat said.

The Ambassador also alleged that some individuals in the International Turkish Hope School, Dhaka administration are 'linked' with the terrorist group and sought a government initiative in this regard.

He also said they have shared the required information with the Bangladesh government.

On stranded 2,000 Bangladeshis in Turkey, the envoy said people use Turkey as a transit to the European countries and both countries should be working together to deal with illegal migrants.

"We've already proposed a readmission deal with Bangladesh and the draft of the deal has already been shared (to send back all illegal migrants)," he said.

On the evening of July 15th, a faction of the Turkish Armed Forces attempted to stage a coup in various cities of Turkey, particularly in Ankara and Istanbul. On that bloody night the coup plotters took the lives of 250 Turkish citizens and wounded more than 2000 people.

Recalling Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's solidarity message to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan after the heinous coup attempt, the Ambassador said, "This act of solidarity was not only the symbol of the eternal fraternity and friendship between Turkey and Bangladesh but also the ultimate testimony of the commitment of Bangladesh to democracy and rule of law."

He said the people of Turkey will always appreciate and remember this support.

Devrim Ozturk said Turkey strongly supports Prime Minister Hasina's zero-tolerance policy against terrorism and militancy.

"Our Prime Minister Binali Yildirim has expressed our will to work together with Bangladesh in order to curb terrorism and militancy in his latest phone conversation with Prime Minister Hasina on the occasion of Bangladesh's 47th Independence and National Day," he said.

The Ambassador paid tributes to Turkish and other martyrs all around the world, including the Freedom Fighters of Bangladesh, who fell while protecting their countries and democracy, and expressed his gratitude to all the veterans who fought for freedom and democracy. "We will never forget their bravery and legacy."

On Bangladesh-Turkey joint bilateral chamber, the Turkish envoy said they do not recognise the Chamber and they published advertisement in newspapers in this regard.

Responding to a question on Middle East crisis, he said lack of democracy is one of the major reasons behind the crisis.

On trade issues the Ambassador said Turkey is one of the top 10 trade counterparts of Bangladesh and the two-way trade stood US$ 1.2 billion last year.

Turkey imported products worth US$ 900 million showing the trade balance heavily in favour of Bangladesh.