Dhaka/Islamabad: Bangladesh and Pakistan held their first Foreign Secretary-level talks in 15 years, as Pakistan’s FS Amna Baloch met with her Bangladeshi counterpart Md Jashim Uddin in Dhaka today.
The two sides discussed a range of bilateral issues at the State Guest House Padma.
The Foreign Office Consultations (FOC) is being held ahead of Pakistan Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar’s visit to Dhaka, slated on April 27-28, in what will be the first Foreign Ministerial visit from Pakistan since 2012.
According to The Daily Star, the meeting between the two foreign secretaries started at State Guest House Padma around 10 am.
Dhaka is seeking to normalise its relations with Islamabad since the ouster of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League-led government in August last year.
After the Foreign Secretary-level talks, Amna Baloch is set to meet with Bangladesh’s Chief Advisor Mohd Yunus and Foreign Advisor Touhid Hossain. She will also attend an interaction with the think-tanks and meet the Pakistani diaspora in the capital this evening.
Since the army-backed Interim Government led by Yunus came to power in August 2024, Bangladesh has been cosying up to Pakistan. Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif and CA Yunus met twice last year – first on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York in September and later at the D-8 summit in Cairo in December.
The fast-warming of ties has been marked by Bangladesh easing visa rules for Pakistani nationals and launching direct shipping links. Islamabad is also keen on organising cultural exchanges and boosting trade, tourism and investment with Dhaka.
“Pakistan sees potential for boosting exports to Bangladesh, especially if their products are price competitive,” said Bangladesh High Commissioner to Pakistan Iqbal Hussain Khan, who is now in Dhaka for the meeting.
Pakistan aims to export products like cotton, sugar, rice and wheat, he said.
In fiscal 2023–24, Bangladesh exported USD 61.98 million goods to Pakistan and imported goods worth USD 627.8 million.
As Pakistan serves as a gateway to Afghanistan and Iran, Dhaka can export goods for those countries through Pakistan, according to the country’s High Commissioner. Discussions are also underway on starting direct flights between Bangladesh and Pakistan, he added.
Along with discussing bilateral relations, Bangladesh is also seeking to address the 1971 war crimes by Pakistan including an unconditional apology for the Bengali genocide, damages and funds owed to it prior to its independence, repatriation of stranded Pakistanis, and repayment of the misappropriated foreign aid by Islamabad during the 1970 Bhola cyclone.
The ouster of the pro-India Hasina regime in the July Uprising has led to deteriorating bilateral relations between India and Bangladesh, in the wake of the increased harassment of Hindus and other minorities in Bangladesh, the rise of Islamic extremism, violence against Awami League members, and anti-India comments from several Advisors in the interim government.
UNI
