Mohd Yunus pledges to strengthen Dhaka-Islamabad ties in meeting with Pak FS Amna Baloch
DHAKA, Apr 18: As Bangladesh and Pakistan held their first Foreign Office Consultations in more than 15 years, Chief Advisor Mohammed Yunus pledged to strengthen Dhaka’s ties with Islamabad during his meeting with Pakistan’s Foreign Secretary Amna Baloch.
Yunus said the two countries should boost trade ties and explore new avenues for business, and also emphasised on promoting mutual cooperation in other areas between the two nations, Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha reported.
During the courtesy call by Amna Baloch, at the State Guest House Jamuna on Thursday evening, the others present included Senior Secretary on Sustainable Development Goals Affairs Lamiya Morshed and Pakistan High Commissioner to Bangladesh Syed Ahmed Maroof.
Referring to the historical wrongs committed by Pakistan in the pre-independence years, the CA said “There are certain hurdles. We have to find ways to overcome those and move forward,” adding that both Dhaka and Islamabad must find ways to “harness the potential between the two countries”.
“We have a huge intra-market potential on our own rights, and we should use it,” Baloch said according to BSS. “We can’t miss the bus every time.” The Pakistan Foreign Secretary stated that there is need for regular business-to-business (B2B) interactions between the private sectors of the two countries and exchanging visits at all levels.
Since the army backed interim government came to power in August 2024 after the ouster of PM Sheikh Hasina and her Awami League-led regime, Bangladesh has become increasingly closer to Pakistan, with bilateral relations between the two improving significantly.
In contrast, Dhaka’s ties with India – its age-old ally and benefactor – have deteriorated, due to Bangladesh’s increasing anti-India rhetoric, harassment of Hindus and other minorities, and the rise of Islamic extremism.
Amna Baloch hoped that the upcoming visit of Pakistan Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on April 27 would further boost relations between the two countries.
The CA said that he preferred closer ties with neighbouring countries, including Pakistan, in the framework of SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation).
He added that the countries should partake in more youth and cultural exchange programs to boost their people-to-people ties.
“We kept missing each other for a long time as our relationship was frozen. We have to overcome the barriers,” he said.
Recalling his meeting with Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in New York on the sidelines of the 79th UNGA in September 2024 and in Cairo on the sidelines of the D-8 Summit in December 2024, CA Yunus said that they were key in making progress in bilateral relations.
He added that Bangladesh and Pakistan will continue to work together closely at various levels, cooperating on both bilateral and multilateral levels alike, through regional forums like SAARC, or multilateral forums like the OIC (Organisation of Islamic Cooperation), and D-8.
On Thursday, Pakistan’s Foreign Secretary Amna Baloch and her Bangladeshi counterpart Md Jashim Uddin held the first Foreign Office Consultation (FOC) between the two nations in 15 years in Dhaka.
)UNI)
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