Touhid-Dar meeting today

Pakistan's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Muhammad Ishaq Dar and Foreign Adviser Touhid Hossain will be leading a delegation-level meeting in Dhaka today as the two countries seek to improve relations after frosty ties for more than a decade.

The meetings will discuss the whole range of bilateral relations, as well as a number of regional and international issues, according to a statement yesterday from the Pakistan foreign ministry.

Dar will hold a private meeting before the delegation-level meeting at the state guest house Padma, where one agreement and five memorandums of understanding (MoUs) will be signed, according to diplomatic sources.

Pakistan's Commerce Minister Jam Kamal Khan arrived on August 21 and held a series of meetings with ministers and trade bodies in Dhaka and Chattogram. He will also be in the delegation-level meeting today.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Pakistan Ishaq Dar being welcomed by Foreign Secretary Asad Alam Siam at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport yesterday afternoon. Pakistan High Commissioner to Bangladesh Imran Haider and Bangladesh High Commissioner to Pakistan Muhammad Iqbal Khan were also present at the time. Photo: PID

The agreement to be signed is for visa-free entry for holders of diplomatic and official passports.

The MoUs to be signed include establishing a joint working group on trade and commerce, as well as cooperation between the Bangladesh Sangbad Sangshtha and the Associated Press of Pakistan, the two countries' Foreign Service Academy, and the Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies and the Islamabad Policy Research Institute.

Dar will call on Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus, meet BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia and senior Jamaat leaders tomorrow.

Earlier in July, Pakistan's Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi visited Dhaka following a foreign secretary-level consultation on April 17, after a 15-year hiatus.

The last foreign ministerial-level visit to Bangladesh was in November 2012, when Hina Rabbani visited Dhaka to invite then-Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to the D-8 summit in Islamabad.

The Dhaka-Islamabad relationship soured after Pakistan condemned the execution of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami leader Abdul Quader Mollah in 2013 for crimes against humanity committed during the Liberation War in 1971.

The renewed efforts to improve the relationship were taken after last year's political changeover.

Bilateral trade increased from both ends, reaching $865 million in fiscal 2024-25. Bangladesh's exports to Pakistan stood at $78 million, a 20 percent increase from the previous year. Pakistan's exports increased by 28 percent.

Since August last year, Bangladesh and Pakistan began direct shipping, eased visa and trade regimes and are set to start direct flights.

For direct flights between Dhaka and Karachi, Pakistani airline Fly Jinnah has already secured approval from Bangladesh and Air Sial has applied for the approval. Biman Bangladesh is also planning to seek approval from Pakistan authorities, officials said.

A Pakistani business delegation, led by President of the Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry Atif Ikram Sheikh, visited Dhaka in January this year after 12 years.

The two countries are likely to hold the Joint Economic Commission meeting in September or October, 20 years after it was last held. Pakistan Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb may visit Bangladesh then, foreign ministry officials said.