President Calls for Enhanced Cooperation with Pakistan in Trade, Education, and Communication

President Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has called for further strengthening bilateral cooperation with Pakistan in areas including trade, investment, air connectivity, education, and professional training.

The call came on Sunday when the High Commissioner of Pakistan to Bangladesh, Imran Haider, paid a courtesy call on the President at Bangabhaban, in the presence of senior officials from the President's Office, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and relevant departments.

During the meeting, the Pakistani High Commissioner conveyed an invitation from Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari for President Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir to visit Pakistan. The President thanked him for the invitation and reciprocated by inviting the Pakistani President to visit Bangladesh at a convenient time. Stressing that Pakistan is an important partner in various sectors, President Alamgir noted that expanding trade and economic activities would mutually benefit the people of both nations, emphasizing the need to increase interaction between business communities to achieve a more balanced trade relationship.

The High Commissioner informed the President that a trade exhibition featuring Pakistani products will be held in Dhaka next October and praised the quality of Bangladeshi tea, encouraging increased exports to Pakistan leveraging existing duty-free facilities. In response, the President highlighted the significant potential for exporting Bangladeshi ceramic products, betel leaves, agricultural goods, and high-quality pharmaceuticals to Pakistan. Furthermore, welcoming the resumption of direct flights between Dhaka and Karachi this year, both sides emphasized the importance of increasing flight frequencies to boost commerce, medical tourism, and people-to-people contact. The President also underscored the need to expand training exchanges between military and civil administrative personnel, as well as higher education opportunities in science, engineering, technology, and medicine