Islamabad (TDI): Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Senator Muhammad Ishaq Dar, has took off for a two-day visit to Bangladesh, making it the first such foreign minister level visit in thirteen years.
It is also the first highest-level engagement between the two countries since the ousting of Sheikh Hasina Wajid, the former Prime Minister of Bangladesh, who was very hostile towards Pakistan while being friendly towards India.
It is noteworthy that Pakistan’s Commerce Minister is already in Bangladesh on a four-day visit which concludes tomorrow. He has engages with Dhaka Chambers of Commerce, in addition to business and trade officials.
On his arrival in Dhaka, DPM/FM Dar is scheduled to meet with Bangladesh’s Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus and Adviser for Foreign Affairs Md. Touhid Hossain. The talksare expected to cover political cooperation, trade, economic integration, and regional affairs.
This visit comes amid a broader re-engagement policy of Dhaka towards Islamabad and it builds upon a series of official meetings between the two countries. Pakistan, which is currently prioritizing its ties with regional countries, has responded in kind.
Read More: Pakistan, Bangladesh Keen to Revive Economic Relations as Commerce Minister Visits
Earlier this year, in April, Pakistan’s Foreign Secretary Amna Baloch held Foreign Office consultations in Dhaka, the first in 15 years, focusing on political, economic, agricultural, educational, and defense ties, along with efforts to revive regional cooperation through SAARC.
Dar’s visit seals a more sustained diplomatic effort, reflecting growing mutual willingness to reset relations buried under decades of history and prior political estrangement. Both countries appear keen to continue this momentum.
The re-engagement is not just limited to political and economic dialogue but military and defense-level openness has also been observed. Just yesterday, Bangladesh’s Quarter Master General Lt. Gen. Md Faizur Rahman and Pakistan’s Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, Gen. Sahir Shamshad Mirza met in Rawalpindi.
FM’s visit, being the highest-level diplomatic engagement from Pakistan since Hasina’s ouster, seems to be laying a groundwork for deeper cooperation between Pakistan and Bangladesh.
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