Strengthening of bilateral ties has been on the agenda as Pakistan's top diplomat arrived in Bangladesh on a two-day visit Saturday, the first by a Pakistani foreign minister in 13 years.
Ishaq Dar, who is also the deputy prime minister, landed at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka on the landmark visit.
There has been a thaw in ties between Islamabad and Dhaka since the August 2024 ouster of former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government, which was considered pro-India.
A number of trade and cooperation agreements are expected to be signed during the trip.
Addressing a press conference at the Pakistani High Commission in Dhaka, Dar underscored his country’s “strong desire to forge a cooperative and forward-looking relationship with Bangladesh.”
Dar said the people of Pakistan have fraternal sentiments towards the people of Bangladesh.
He also met delegations of different political parties and will be received by Bangladesh’s interim leader Muhammad Yunus on Sunday.
Mutual interest, regional trade
A leader of the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami party said they discussed issues of mutual interest and regional trade.
“We discussed how to further enhance relations with the brotherly Muslim state (Pakistan) in the coming days and how to make the regional alliance SAARC more active and stronger,” deputy leader Syed Abdullah Muhammad Taher told reporters after the meeting.
Calling the Bangladeshi foreign policy in the last 15 years as somewhat “one-sided,” he said: "Now the Bangladesh government and all of us feel the need to have good relations with all the neighboring countries in the region. Both sides have emphasised on that."
Leaders of the newly formed National Citizen Party (NCP), who led the last year's uprising, also met Dar, and emphasised on developing good relations and moving away from past hostilities.
Separately, the leadership of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), led by the party’s Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, held a meeting with the Pakistani foreign minister.
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"Significant milestone"
According to Pakistan's Foreign Ministry, Dar "expressed Pakistan’s commitment to strengthening bilateral relations with Bangladesh on the basis of mutual respect and mutual benefit." He is scheduled to meet BNP chairperson and former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia on Sunday, the BNP's media cell said.
Pakistan has described the visit as “historic,” calling it a "significant milestone" in Pakistan-Bangladesh relations.
The last Pakistani foreign minister to visit Bangladesh was Hina Rabbani Khar in 2012, who stayed for less than 12 hours in Dhaka.
Dar’s visit coincides with a separate four-day trip by Pakistan’s commerce minister to Bangladesh, which runs until August 24.
Bangladesh broke away from Pakistan in 1971 following a war of independence.
