Pakistan, Bangladesh discuss trade in renewed push to mend ties

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s High Commissioner to Bangladesh Imran Ahmed Siddiqui met the President of the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI), Rizwan Rahman, on Wednesday and stressed Islamabad’s ‘desire’ to strengthen economic and commercial relations with the neighboring country.
Last week, Siddiqui announced that Islamabad had lifted all restrictions on visas for Bangladeshi citizens and now awaited a similar response from Dhaka. In recent weeks, Pakistan has repeatedly said it wants to ‘strengthen’ bilateral ties, particularly after a meeting between Siddiqui and Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at her official residence last month.
On Wednesday, Siddiqui told Rahman he hoped the Joint Economic Commission between the two countries would be activated soon, and said direct flights between Dhaka and Karachi needed to be restored in order to promote trade. A direct shipment facility from the Karachi to Chattogram ports also needed to be launched, he said.
During the meeting, the envoy said Pakistan’s fashion industry could also enter into a “useful partnership” with Bangladesh’s textile sector.
As India’s relations with its neighbors in the South Asian region deteriorate, old foes Pakistan and Bangladesh are making a push to build diplomatic, economic and cultural ties that could upend decades of historic configurations in the region.
A number of recent diplomatic developments have hinted at a thaw in the long-troubled equation.
Prime Minister Imran Khan invited his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina to visit Islamabad in a rare call in July that came just weeks after a ‘quiet’ meeting between Pakistan’s high commissioner to Dhaka and Bangladeshi Foreign Minister A. K. Abdul Momen.
Relations between the two countries have never recovered from the 1971 war when Bengali nationalists, backed by India, broke away from what was then West Pakistan to form a new country.
Ties reached a new low in 2016 when Bangladesh executed several leaders of its Jamaat-e-Islami party on charges of committing war crimes in 1971. Pakistan called the executions and trials “politically motivated,” arguing that they were related to the pro-Pakistan stance of the convicts during the war.
But now, officials on both sides say it’s time for a reset.
In a statement issued by the Bangladeshi Foreign Ministry last week, Bangladesh’s State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam was quoted as saying: “We look forward to engaging with Pakistan.”
Both sides agreed on the need to hold long-pending foreign office consultations that were last held in 2010, the circular added.
Alam also urged Pakistan to grant access to more Bangladeshi products under the South Asia Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA), relax the negative list and remove trade barriers.
“The current trade balance tilts toward Pakistan,” he said, adding that the Pakistani side emphasized that it would address all non-trade barriers in order to establish “productive commercial relations” with Dhaka.