ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s government this week offered the Karachi Port Trust (KPT) as a gateway for Bangladesh’s regional trade with China and Central Asian states, state media reported, as Islamabad eyes renewed trade with Dhaka amid a thaw in ties. 

The development took place during the ninth session of the Pakistan-Bangladesh Joint Economic Commission (JEC) organized in Dhaka on Monday after a hiatus of 20 years. The session was co-chaired by Pakistan’s Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik and Bangladesh’s Finance Adviser Dr. Salehuddin Ahmed. 

Both sides signed the Agreed Minutes of the JEC, reflecting progress in trade, investment and industries, agriculture, transport and communications, education, information technology, health, tourism, energy and other sectors. 

“The two sides emphasized the importance of enhancing cooperation between the national shipping corporations, with Pakistan offering the use of Karachi Port Trust as a gateway for Bangladesh’s trade with regional countries, including China and the Central Asian States,” Pakistan’s Press Information Department (PID) reported on Monday. 

Pakistan and Bangladesh also agreed to work actively on establishing direct air connectivity, recognizing its vital role in promoting tourism and business exchanges, PID said. 

The two sides also signed an agreement on cooperation in halal trade between the Pakistan Halal Authority and the Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institute, paving the way for enhanced collaboration in standardization and certification of halal products.

“Both sides agreed to cooperate in the areas of medical and religious tourism, and to promote greater cultural exchanges between the two countries,” PID said. 

Pakistan and Bangladesh have signaled a gradual easing of historic tensions in recent months, with regular exchanges between the two countries political and military leadership, ever since the ouster of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina. 

Pakistan and Bangladesh were once one nation, but they split in 1971 after a bloody civil war, which saw the part previously referred to as East Pakistan seceding to form the independent nation of Bangladesh.

In the years since, Bangladeshi leaders, particularly Hasina, chose to maintain close ties with India, Pakistan’s arch-rival. Ties between Pakistan and Bangladesh have warmed up since Hasina’s ouster as a result of a student-led uprising in August 2024, with both sides cautiously reopening diplomatic channels.

This February, Bangladesh resumed direct trade with Pakistan for the first time since its independence in 1971, with the first shipment of 50,000 tons of rice leaving Pakistan’s Port Qasim under a government-to-government deal.