Dates would be fixed through diplomatic channel, Saifullah Khan said during an exclusive interview with the news agency at the Pakistan Embassy in Dhaka.

"The Pakistan president had been in Dhaka in 2002 and the prime minister of Pakistan must visit Bangladesh, hopefully this year," he said, hoping that Prime Minister Khaleda Zia would also go to Islamabad on a bilateral visit.

Khan, who came here leading a 5-member delegation at the invitation of the ruling BNP, said it's very important to establish party-to-party contact, alongside contact at the government level, to have more interactions to strengthen bilateral ties.

"This is our first party level contact," he said, hoping a BNP delegation will soon visit Islamabad as the guest of Pakistan Muslim League.

Replying to a query on the longstanding irritant over repatriation of more than 2.5 lakh stranded Pakistanis from Bangladesh, Khan said, "It is not an irritant."

He said BNP leaders and officials raised the matter in meetings with him, and noted that both the ruling parties of Pakistan and Bangladesh should discuss the matter to find a solution instead of leaving it to the two governments.

On bilateral trade that remains insignificant and in favour of Islamabad, Khan said Pakistan had already granted special concession for tea and leather imports from Bangladesh. He said he would ask the Pakistan government to look into the possibility of buying more goods from Bangladesh so trade could be more balanced.