KARACHI: The state-owned Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and Biman Bangladesh Airlines have signed a deal to streamline air cargo and augment bilateral trade, a PIA spokesman said on Monday, amid a thaw in relations between the two countries.

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

Ties between Pakistan and Bangladesh have warmed up since the fall of former Bangladeshi prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who was widely viewed as close to India and critical of Pakistan, following a student-led uprising in August 2024.

The PIA spokesman said the airline has signed a Cargo Interline Special Agreement with Biman airlines as part of the former’s plans to expand cargo business and to provide competitive services to customers. The agreement will be effective from Dec. 1.

“The partnership will also facilitate in minimizing logistical complexities in transporting commodities such as textiles, pharmaceuticals, and agricultural products,” the PIA spokesman said.

“The airline will utilize key Saudi Arabian hubs that are Jeddah, Madinah, and Riyadh, as transit gateways, establishing a strategic corridor for regional trade.”

Islamabad has attempted to forge closer ties with Bangladesh in recent months as relations remain frosty between Dhaka and New Delhi over India’s decision to grant asylum to Hasina after she fled the country.

In Feb., a first cargo ship in decades sailed directly from Pakistan to Bangladesh and successfully unloaded its containers, port officials said. Pakistan is also mulling resumption of direct flights to Dhaka.

The two countries signed six agreements in Aug. relating to visa abolition for diplomatic and official passport holders, Joint Working Group on Trade, foreign services academies of Pakistan and Bangladesh, the Associated Press of Pakistan

Corporation and Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, the Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad and the Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies, and a cultural exchange program.