Bangladesh visit was ‘highly productive’ : Ishaq Dar

Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar described his 36-hour visit to Bangladesh as “highly productive.”

Dar expressed his firm belief that this trip would inject new momentum into Bangladesh-Pakistan relations. There would be more exchange of visits as well as enhanced cooperation in various fields.

He conveyed this optimism in a post on X (formerly Twitter) before departing Dhaka at the end of his Bangladesh visit.

Ishaq Dar had arrived in Dhaka on Saturday afternoon and left Dhaka late Sunday night.

During his visit to Bangladesh, Ishaq Dar held a foreign ministerial level bilateral meeting with Foreign Affairs Adviser Md Touhid Hossain.

Following the meeting, one agreement and five memoranda of understanding (MoUs) were signed to deepen relations between the two countries. These included a visa exemption agreement for holders of diplomatic and official (government) passports; an MoU on cultural exchange; MoUs between the news agencies of the two countries, the foreign service academies, and research institutions; and an MoU on trade cooperation.

Alongside the ministerial-level meeting, Ishaq Dar also paid a courtesy call on Professor Muhammad Yunus, Chief Adviser of Bangladesh’s interim government. He also held a breakfast meeting with Commerce Adviser Sk Bashir Uddin.

As part of political outreach, Ishaq Dar visited the residences of former Prime Minister and BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia and Jamaat-e-Islami Amir Shafiqur Rahman.

On the first day of his visit, Ishaq Dar held separate meetings with three delegations—from the National Citizen Party (NCP), Jamaat-e-Islami, and the BNP.

In his X post, Ishaq Dar said he had concluded a very productive 36-hours visit to Bangladesh over the weekend. During the visit, he held extensive meetings with Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus, Foreign Adviser Md Touhid Hossain, Adviser for Commerce Sk Bashir Uddin, and senior cabinet officials.

He also met and exchanged views with leaders of Bangladesh’s major political parties, intellectuals, research institutions, academics, civil society, and the business community.

Referring to his meeting with Foreign Affairs Adviser Touhid Hossain, Ishaq Dar said there had been wide-ranging and productive discussions between the two countries. The views of both sides had been fully aligned. Topics of discussion included high-level exchanges, trade and economic cooperation, cultural and people-to-people relations, education and skills development. Regional and international issues, especially the revitalisation of SAARC, were also discussed.

The Pakistani Foreign Minister said he firmly believed this visit would give new impetus to Pakistan-Bangladesh relations. Mutual cooperation and exchange of visits would increase further in all sectors.