Dhaka, 5 July 2022 (TDI): Pakistan’s High Commissioner to Bangladesh, Imran Ahmad Siddique, spoke with Bangladeshi TV anchor Zillur Rahman, in an interview.
He shared his experience of working as the High Commissioner of Pakistan to Bangladesh and on Pakistan and Bangladesh’s relations.
In his interview with @zillur, H.E. @AmbImranS on his experience of working as High Commissioner for #Pakistan in #Bangladesh: pic.twitter.com/UBUvZWGLBU
— Pakistan High Commission Bangladesh (@PakinBangladesh) July 1, 2022
He shared that he had been treated with love and affection in Bangladesh. The goodwill for Pakistan in Bangladesh is most valuable and precious in Pakistan.
Pakistan considers Bangladesh not only a friendly but a brotherly country. He said that Bangladesh is our partner to strengthen our voice in the Islamic world.
Significantly, Pakistan admires the leadership and people of Bangladesh along with all the achievements of the country in the past 50 years.
Talking about the 1971 war between both countries, Pakistan’s envoy mentioned that it was a very unfortunate moment in the shared history of both states.
Additionally, there were many miscalculations that were exploited by internal and external forces leading to the tragic point in relation.
Mentioning the Pakistani diaspora in Bangladesh along with the younger generation, he stated that these two communities have a strong desire to connect with their Bangladeshi counterparts.
Pakistan’s ambassador also mentioned that leaders of both countries have always shared goodwill for the partnership. He reiterated that we have not fully exploited the potential of this partnership.
Strengthening Bilateral relations
As far as the trade is concerned, Pakistan’s envoy mentioned that it is quite progressive. However, there are challenges.
He mentioned that for speedy and successful trade relations trade communities need to interact freely.
Moreover, there is a need to revive the mechanisms of Joint Economic Cooperation and Bilateral Political consultation for better relations.
He also stated that there is a gap that is needed to be filled between both countries. In order to fill that gap, only government interactions are not sufficient. As governments will only interact for specific issues
There should be cultural and student exchange programs. There should be negotiations and seminars between intelligence communities, generalists, and spokespersons.
Conclusively, he recommended a more top-down approach to boost Pak-Bangladesh relations.
