In a significant step towards strengthening bilateral ties, Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar concluded a landmark two-day visit to Dhaka—the first by a Pakistani foreign minister in over a decade. The visit, described by Pakistan’s Foreign Office as a “significant milestone,” focused on rejuvenating cooperation across various sectors and building on a recent thaw in relations between the two South Asian nations.
The diplomatic engagement began with a key meeting on trade and commerce. Dar, alongside Pakistan’s Commerce Minister Jam Kamal Khan, held a breakfast meeting with Bangladesh’s Commerce Adviser Sheikh Bashiruddin and a delegation of senior finance and trade officials. The discussions centered on promoting economic and commercial cooperation, with a special emphasis on enhancing bilateral trade volumes and improving connectivity to facilitate business.
Following the economic talks, Dar held wide-ranging discussions with Bangladesh’s Foreign Adviser Md Touhid Hossain. The two officials reviewed the entire gamut of bilateral relations, covering high-level exchanges, people-to-people contacts, cultural collaborations, and cooperation in education and capacity building. The conversation also extended to pressing regional and international issues, including the rejuvenation of SAARC and the ongoing crises in Palestine and for the Rohingya people.
The visit, which also included meetings with Bangladeshi political party delegations and a reception hosted by the Pakistani High Commissioner, is expected to culminate in the signing of four to five memorandums of understanding. These agreements aim to strengthen bilateral ties in the fields of trade, culture, media, training, and travel, formally cementing the new phase of cooperative and forward-looking relations.
