Islamabad : The Honourable Ch. Mehmood Bashir Virk, MNA, Convener of the Pakistan-Bangladesh Parliamentary Friendship Group, chaired a briefing on the bilateral relations between Pakistan and Bangladesh in Committee Room No. Parliament House. The briefing was attended by officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) and the Ministry of Commerce.
During the briefing, the Honourable Convener expressed that the partition of Pakistan and Bangladesh remains a regrettable chapter in the history of both countries, citing it as a failure of leadership on both sides. He emphasized that Bangladesh is a Muslim-majority country and that the people of Bangladesh share a deep cultural and emotional bond with Pakistan.
Ms. Asmma Kamal. Deputy Secretary, Ministry of Commerce, briefed the Parliamentary Friendship Group (PFG) on the current state of trade relations. She informed the group that, while there is no formal bilateral trade agreement between Pakistan and Bangladesh, both countries are part of the multilateral South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) agreement. She highlighted the existing Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the export of up to 200,000 metric tons of rice per year on a government-to-government (G2G) basis. Pakistan has successfully exported 50,000 metric tons of white rice (Irri-6) to Bangladesh. Additionally. Bangladesh has proposed the formation of a Bilateral Joint Working Group (JWG) on trade, and the draft MoU for the JWG was shared with the Bangladeshi side earlier this year. In January 2025, several trade delegations visited Bangladesh, including:
An 18-member delegation from FPCCI
A 12-member textiles delegation
- A 3-member citrus delegation
Ms. Asmma Kamal also noted that exports from Pakistan to Bangladesh saw an 18% increase in the period from July to January 2024-25, compared to the same period last year.
Mr. Ilyas Nizami. Director General (South Asia & SAARC) at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA), briefed the group on the developments in bilateral relations following 5th August 2024. He shared that the bilateral relationship between Pakistan and Bangladesh has improved significantly in recent months. Currently, around 1,500 Pakistanis are employed in various sectors in Bangladesh. However, Pakistani nationals in Bangladesh have faced challenges such as unnecessary visa checks, surveillance, and customs clearance issues. While these problems had been a concern in the past. Mr. Nizami noted that the situation has improved since the change of government in Bangladesh. The Pakistani Ambassador to Bangladesh also attended the meeting virtually via Zoom.
The meeting was also attended by Honourable MNAs Mr. Muhammad Saad Ullah. Mr. Muhammad Mueen Watto, Ms. Tahira Aurangzeb, and Ms. Sofia Saeed Shah, as well as Mr. Ilyas Nizami, Director General (South Asia & SAARC), MoFA, and Ms. Asmma Kamal. Deputy Secretary, Ministry of Commerce.