Pakistan eager to hold FS level talks with Bangladesh to boost ties

Pakistan wants to hold foreign secretary-level consultations and the meeting of the Joint Economic Commission with Bangladesh as part of Islamabad's efforts to strengthen its ties with Dhaka.

The issues were discussed when Imran Ahmed Siddiqui, additional secretary (Asia Pacific) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan called on Foreign Secretary of Bangladesh Md Jashim Uddin on Wednesday at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Siddiqui carried a letter from Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Pakistan Senator Muhammad Ishaq Dar addressed to Foreign Affairs Adviser Md Touhid Hossain and handed it over to the foreign secretary, officials at the MoFA said.

Both sides discussed the importance of holding the foreign secretary-level consultations, the last meeting of which was held in 2010 and the Joint Economic Commission, the last meeting of which was held in 2005.

The discussion also covered strengthening cooperation to enhance trade and reduce the trade gap.

Both sides expressed satisfaction over the recent visits of several trade delegations from Pakistan to Bangladesh and emphasised the importance of visits by the product-specific trade delegations from Bangladesh to Pakistan.

Cooperation in the sectors of tourism, people-to-people contacts, cultural exchanges, the issue of forcibly displaced Rohingyas and cooperation in the international forum were also discussed.

Both sides recalled the substantive discussion between Bangladesh's chief adviser and the prime minister of Pakistan 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.

They also recalled the meeting between the foreign adviser and deputy prime minister and foreign minister of Pakistan on the sidelines of the Commonwealth Heads of Governments Meeting in Apia, Samoa in October 2024.

The importance of strengthened regional and multilateral cooperation through SAARC, OIC, and D-8 was also highlighted. The additional secretary (Asia Pacific) was accompanied by the High Commissioner of Pakistan to Bangladesh Syed Ahmed Maroof.