Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar arrived in Bangladesh on Saturday for a two-day official visit the first by a Pakistani foreign minister to Dhaka in 13 years.
The Foreign Office called the trip a “significant milestone” in Pakistan-Bangladesh relations. During the visit, from August 23 to 24, FM Ishaq Dar is scheduled to hold important meetings with top Bangladeshi leaders, including Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus and Foreign Affairs Adviser Touhid Hossain.
According to the Foreign Office, the two sides will discuss the full range of bilateral relations as well as key regional and international matters.
This visit marks the highest-level Pakistani visit to Bangladesh since 2012. It comes at a time when ties between the two countries are improving, especially after the recent political changes in Dhaka following the ouster of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who later fled to India amid a mass student-led uprising.
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Since then, Pakistan and Bangladesh have made significant progress in restoring relations. Last year, both countries resumed sea trade, followed by enhanced government-to-government trade earlier this year.
Just days before FM Ishaq Dar’s visit, Commerce Minister Jam Kamal Khan met with Bangladeshi officials in Dhaka and agreed to form joint commissions to boost trade and investment.
In another sign of warming ties, top military officials from both countries met in Pakistan earlier this week.
The two nations reached an agreement in principle to allow visa-free entry for holders of diplomatic and official passports. That deal was discussed during a meeting between Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and Bangladesh’s Home Minister Lt. Gen. (retd) Jahangir Alam Chowdhury in Dhaka.
In April, Pakistan and Bangladesh also launched direct shipping between Karachi and Chittagong agreed on the need to restart direct air travel.
These developments followed the 6th round of Foreign Secretary-Level Consultations held in Dhaka after a 15-year break. The talks, led by Pakistan’s Foreign Secretary Amna Baloch and Bangladesh’s Jashim Uddin, were described as cordial and productive, with both sides agreeing to work together to boost ties and make travel easier between the two countries.
Several agreements, including on trade, are expected to be signed during FM Ishaq Dar’s visit on Sunday.
