Pakistan and Bangladesh have resumed high -level diplomatic consultations for the first time in 15 years while senior officials on both sides met on Thursday in Dacca to relaunch bilateral engagement and approach regional and international questions of mutual interest.
The consultations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (FOC) took place at the Guest House of the Padma State and led by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan, Amna Baloch, and his Bangladais counterpart MD Jashim Uddin.
The meeting marks the first official focus between the two countries since 2010, signaling a renewal of efforts to rebuild trust and cooperation.
According to officials, discussions have focused on a range of issues, including trade, investment, tourism, cultural exchanges and the situation of forcibly displaced rohingyas.
The two parties also examined the progress of visa facilitation and direct delivery services and expressed their optimism about future collaboration in regional forums.
Amna Baloch, who assumed her role in September 2024, is visiting two days in Dhaka. She should meet the chief advisor of Bangladesh Muhammad Yunus and foreign advisor Touhid Hosquain, and will also attend an interaction with the reflection groups and the Pakistani diaspora later during the day.
Consultations are part of Islamabad’s wider strategy to strengthen Dhaka links following a thaw of relations after the government led by the Awami League in August 2024.
Since then, Pakistan and Bangladesh have exchanged commercial delegations and have embarked on multiple diplomatic meetings on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly and D-8 summit.
Bangladesh has since attenuated visa restrictions for Pakistani nationals and has launched direct shipping links. Pakistan, in turn, seeks to stimulate exports and facilitate cultural programs to deepen the contacts of people to the person.
Department Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ishaq Dar is expected to visit Dhaka in the last week of April. His visit would be the first by a Pakistani Minister for Foreign Affairs in Bangladesh since 2012.
