Trade and Diplomacy: Pakistan’s FM heads to Bangladesh
Diplomatic Correspondent :
As part of efforts to strengthen ties between Dhaka and Islamabad, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister, Ishaq Dar, is set to embark on an official visit to Bangladesh next month.
The Pakistan High Commission in Bangladesh confirmed to The New Nation on Friday that while the exact dates have not yet been finalised, the visit is being planned for February.
Sources indicate that Pakistan is optimistic that the visit will help enhance bilateral relations. If the visit goes ahead, it will be the first by a Pakistani foreign minister since 2012, when Hina Rabbani Khar visited Dhaka to extend an invitation to former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for the D-8 Summit. However, three days after Khar’s visit, Hasina cancelled her attendance at the summit, though the reason was not disclosed.
Since then, there have been no high-profile visits between the two nations to bolster diplomatic relations, which had been deteriorating until the fall of Sheikh Hasina’s government on 5 August following a mass uprising.
According to a report in Pakistan’s Express Tribune, Ishaq Dar announced his upcoming visit to Dhaka at a press conference, stating that he had received an invitation from his Bangladeshi counterpart. During the same press conference, he also confirmed that Bangladesh’s Chief Adviser to the Interim Government, Dr Muhammad Yunus, had accepted Pakistan’s invitation to visit Islamabad at mutually agreed dates.
With the departure of Sheikh Hasina and the establishment of an interim government, diplomatic relations between Dhaka and Islamabad are regaining momentum after a 15-year period of stagnation. Several high-level exchanges have taken place as part of efforts to rebuild ties.
Chief Adviser Dr Muhammad Yunus last met Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Cairo during the D-8 Summit on 20 December 2024. On the sidelines of the summit, Dr Yunus urged Prime Minister Sharif to resolve longstanding issues stemming from the events of 1971, which have been a barrier to improved relations. In response, Shehbaz Sharif referred to Bangladesh as a “brotherly country” and expressed his desire to strengthen ties across multiple sectors for mutual benefit.
Earlier, during the UN General Assembly in September 2024, both leaders held their first meeting on the sidelines in New York, where they discussed ways to enhance bilateral relations.
In addition to diplomatic exchanges, direct shipping routes between Chattogram and Karachi have been established, marking a new chapter in connectivity and trade relations. Following the lifting of restrictions, two cargo ships carrying imported goods have arrived in Bangladesh in the past two months. This development was previously considered unlikely due to geopolitical influences during the Hasina administration.
Sources suggest that the volume of trade through these shipping routes is expected to grow in the coming months, depending on demand from both countries.
It is anticipated that Ishaq Dar’s visit will pave the way for expanded trade, improved connectivity, and stronger people-to-people relations between Bangladesh and Pakistan.