Staff Reporter :
Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus on Thursday stressed the importance of enhancing ties with Pakistan to foster mutual cooperation and unlock trade and business opportunities.
His remarks came during a meeting with Pakistani Foreign Secretary Amna Baloch at the State Guest House Jamuna, marking the first such visit by a Pakistani foreign secretary to Bangladesh in 15 years.
“There are certain obstacles, but we need to find ways to overcome them and move ahead,” Prof Yunus told Baloch.
Acknowledging historical challenges, Amna Baloch emphasized the need for both nations to seize the potential that exists in their bilateral relationship. “We have significant intraregional market potential, and we should capitalize on it,” she said, adding: “We can’t afford to miss opportunities time and again.”
She underlined the importance of regular private sector interactions and called for increased business-to-business (B2B) engagement and high-level visits between the two nations.
In January 2025, a delegation from the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FPCCI) visited Bangladesh and signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce & Industries (FBCCI).
Baloch also expressed hope that the upcoming visit of Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, scheduled for the end of April, would further strengthen bilateral relations.
Professor Yunus reiterated his longstanding commitment to nurturing closer ties with regional neighbours, including Pakistan, within the framework of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).
He also highlighted the need for more youth exchanges and cultural programmes to deepen people-to-people connections between Bangladesh and Pakistan. “Our relationship remained stagnant for a long time. It’s time we break through the barriers,” he noted.
Reflecting on his meetings with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on the sidelines of the 79th UN General Assembly in New York in September 2024 and again at the D-8 Summit in Cairo in December 2024, the Chief Adviser said those engagements played a key role in reinvigorating bilateral ties.
He affirmed that Bangladesh and Pakistan would continue to collaborate in multilateral and regional platforms such as SAARC, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), and the D-8.
Also present at the meeting were Senior Secretary on SDG Affairs Lamiya Morshed and Pakistan’s High Commissioner to Bangladesh, Syed Ahmed Maroof.
