ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has formally invited Bangladesh’s newly elected prime minister, Tarique Rahman, to visit Islamabad, its information ministry said on Wednesday after senior minister Ahsan Iqbal met the new premier in Dhaka following the oath-taking ceremony.

The outreach signals a cautious attempt by the two South Asian nations to improve relations decades after the 1971 war that led to Bangladesh’s independence from Pakistan, with diplomatic engagement historically limited and economic links underdeveloped compared with regional potential.

After former Bangladeshi prime minister Sheikh Hasina was ousted during the 2024 political upheaval and fled to India, relations between Dhaka and Islamabad began to normalize after years of near-frozen contact. For over a decade under Hasina’s Awami League government, Bangladesh had aligned closely with India and kept Pakistan at diplomatic arm’s length. 

The political shift in Dhaka — culminating in the 2026 election victory of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) led by Tarique Rahman — created space for engagement, including the relaunch of direct flights, high-level political and military exchanges, technical cooperation and business ties. The reset reflects broader regional dynamics: Bangladesh diversifying its diplomacy beyond India, and Pakistan seeking economic partnerships in South Asia amid a geo-economic foreign policy push.

“Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal conveyed a formal invitation from the Prime Minister of Pakistan to Prime Minister Tarique Rahman to undertake an official visit to Pakistan at a mutually convenient date,” a Pakistani information ministry statement said, quoting Iqbal who represented Islamabad at the oath taking. 

“The two leaders discussed avenues to reinvigorate bilateral relations and enhance regional cooperation.”

The two sides discussed expanding cooperation in education, research and digital governance, including a proposed “Pakistan–Bangladesh Knowledge Corridor” to promote academic partnerships and student exchanges.

Islamabad said it had allocated 500 scholarships for Bangladeshi students, with 75 already traveling to Pakistan for higher education, and proposed closer coordination between national data and statistics institutions in both countries.

Officials also discussed improving direct flight connectivity to boost trade, tourism and business links, as well as cooperation in small and medium-sized industries and technology-enabled services.

The statement added that both sides supported stronger cultural engagement, including joint celebrations next year marking the 150th birth anniversary of philosopher-poet Muhammad Iqbal.

Both countries reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening ties and promoting regional stability and economic cooperation, the statement added.