Islamabad:
Pakistan and Bangladesh signed a certain number of agreements on Sunday to improve cooperation in trade, diplomacy, media, education and cultural exchanges, marking a significant step in the efforts to reset relations after years of freezing links, while the Minister of Foreign Affairs Ishaq Dar was looking to go beyond the baggage of 1971.
Dar, who is on a historic visit to Dhaka, the first by a Pakistani Minister for Foreign Affairs in 13 years, held a series of high -level meetings with the main leadership and political figures from Bangladesh.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs had interviews with the main advisor to Bangladesh, Professor Muhammad Yunus, the foreign policy advisor Touhid Hospi and met with former Prime Minister Bangladais Khaleda Zia and Jamaat-Elami Bangladesh Ameer separately.
In addition, DAR also met with members of the National Citizen Party (NCP), a political party based on students who played a role in the ouster of the government of Sheikh Hasina Wajed in August from last year.
The eviction of the government of the Awami League led to the rapprochement between Pakistan and Bangladesh and Dar’s visit reflected the last push of both parties to improve their links.
The two countries have signed six agreements and memorandums of understanding (MOUS) aimed at improving trade in trade, diplomacy, media, education and cultural exchanges.
The signed agreements included an abolishing agreement of visa requirements for diplomats and government representatives, a memorandum of understanding between the two academies of the external service of the two countries, a media cooperation pact between Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) and Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS), and the soft to reflect the two parties. A joint business working group and a cultural exchange program (2025-2028) was also finalized.
Dar, who met the chief advisor Yunus, transmitted the greetings of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and expressed Pakistan’s commitment to strengthen bilateral ties. The two parties discussed trade, economic cooperation, exchanges of young people and regional security. Dar thanked the Bangladais government for “warm hospitality and excellent arrangements” during his stay.
Pakistan also launched a “Pakistani-Bangladesh knowledge corridor”, offering 500 scholarships to Bangladais students over the next five years, including a special medicine allowance. Training programs for 100 Bangladais officials will also be offered. In addition, the number of scholarships as part of the Pakistan technical assistance program has increased from five to 25 years.
He called the president of the BNP, Begum Khaleda Zia, at his residence, exercising good wishes for her recovery and remembered his visit to Pakistan in 2006. He also visited the residence of Jamaat-Elami Ameer Dr Shafiqur Rahman, who recalls cardiac surgery, and evaluated her contributions in politics, education and social.
The wave of commitments underlines the thrust of Islamabad to put links with Dhaka on a new foot. “Our future is brilliant and we have to work together for the improvement of our peoples.”
Addressing journalists after meeting Dar, the Bangladesh foreign policy advisor said that he had raised the unresolved problems between the two countries.
“We have raised unresolved questions such as excuses or an expression of regret for 1971, claims on assets and the question of blocked Pakistani citizens (with DAR),” Hosseain told journalists after discussions with Dar. It would be wrong to expect 54-year-old problems to be resolved in a single day, he added.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, DAR, however, said that the “unresolved questions” of 1971 between Pakistan and Bangladesh had already been settled twice, both in writing and verbally.
When asked by journalists on “unresolved problems” between Pakistan and Bangladesh, Dar replied: “Regarding unresolved problems, this case was settled for the first time in writing in 1974, and this historic document is available in the two countries.”
“Later, General Musharraf came here and addressed this question in a very open and explicit way,” he added. He said: “In my opinion, once this case has been settled between brothers, Islam also asks us to keep our hearts clean. Therefore, we have to go ahead and work together, because our future is brilliant.”
“Consequently, in accordance with our Islamic lessons, at the Koran and the Sunnah, we must keep our hearts pure and move forward. We are only one family, and we have to work together to do our best for the inhabitants of the two countries.”
Dar added: “My brother Touhid and our whole team will work together to achieve the best possible results. This is the agreement, and that’s what we do.”
Dar also said that “the future of the two countries is very brilliant” and “we have to work together to do our best for the inhabitants of the two nations”.
Dar, however, described his commitment to Dacca as excellent, insisting that the two parties had a complete consensus. “There was no disagreement on any questions, which is a very positive sign,” he said. “We are working together to take economic and commercial relations between our two countries to new heights,” he said.
