Top officials of B'desh and Pakistan hold talks ahead of possible visit by Pak's Deputy PM

Dhaka, Mar 5 (PTI) Top officials of Bangladesh and Pakistan held talks here on Wednesday ahead of a possible visit by Pakistan's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar in April.

The ties between the two countries saw a sudden revival after the change of government in August last year, following a drought in their relationship during the regime of Sheikh Hasina.

On Wednesday, Pakistan's Additional Secretary (Asia Pacific) Imran Ahmed Siddiqui called on Bangladesh's Foreign Secretary Md. Jashim Uddin at the ministry office here, the state-run BSS news agency reported, citing a press release issued by the ministry.   Siddiqui carried a letter from Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Dar addressed to Bangladesh foreign affairs adviser and handed it over to the Foreign Secretary, it added.  During their meeting, the two sides recalled the substantive discussion between Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif during their meetings in Cairo on the sidelines of the D-8 Summit in December 2024 and in New York in September 2024 on the sidelines of the 79th UNGA.  The two sides also discussed the importance of holding the Foreign Secretary Level Consultations, the last meeting of which was held in 2010 and the meeting of the Joint Economic Commission, the last meeting of which was held in 2005.

Deputy Prime Minister Dar will visit Bangladesh in April this year, the Daily Star reported.

Today's discussion covered the issue of strengthening cooperation to enhance trade and reduce the trade gap.

  "Both sides expressed satisfaction over recent visits of several trade delegations from Pakistan to Bangladesh and emphasized the importance of visits by the product-specific trade delegations from Bangladesh to Pakistan," the BSS news agency reported.

  The two sides also discussed cooperation in the sectors of tourism, people-to-people contacts, cultural exchanges, the issue of forcibly displaced Rohingyas and cooperation in the international forum, it said.  The importance of strengthened regional and multilateral cooperation through SAARC, OIC, and D-8 was also highlighted, it added.  Pakistan's then foreign minister Hina Rabbani Khar last visited Bangladesh in 2012. In 2022, the then foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari attended D-8 ministerial conference virtually, reflecting the low-level of diplomatic relations under Hasina over the last 15 years.

As their ties continue to improve, Bangladesh has simplified the visa process for Pakistanis, with an objective to further strengthen trade and economic relations. The two countries are planning to resume direct shipping and flights. PTI ZH ZH

Source: PTI