Home
+
He says the two countries kept missing each other for a long time as their ties remained frozen, but now is the time to melt the ice
Published : 17 Apr 2025, 09:43 PM
Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus has called for stronger ties between Bangladesh and Pakistan to bolster cooperation and tap into trade and investment prospects.
He made the remarks during a courtesy meeting with Pakistan’s Foreign Secretary Amna Baloch at the State Guest House Jamuna on Thursday.
“There are certain hurdles, but we must overcome them and move forward. We need to find a way,” Yunus was quoted as saying in a media statement from the Chief Advisor’s Office.
The meeting marked the first round of bilateral foreign secretary-level consultations between Bangladesh and Pakistan in 15 years.
Speaking at the meeting, Foreign Secretary Baloch stressed the importance of capitalising on the existing potential between the two South Asian countries, with lessons drawn from the past.
“We have huge markets within our respective regions. We are failing to use them. We can’t miss the bus every time,” she said.
Baloch also underscored the need for regular business-to-business (B2B) connections between the private sectors of the two countries and emphasised exchanges at all levels.
She recalled the January 2025 visit to Bangladesh by a delegation from Pakistan’s apex business body, the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI), which signed an MoU with its Bangladeshi counterpart, the FBCCI.
Baloch expressed hope that the upcoming visit of Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar later in April would further boost ties between Dhaka and Islamabad.
Yunus reaffirmed his long-standing support for closer ties with neighbouring countries, including Pakistan, under the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) framework.
“To strengthen people-to-people ties, Bangladesh and Pakistan should increase youth and cultural exchanges,” he added.
“For a long time, we kept missing each other. Our relationship was frozen. Now is the time to thaw that ice,” said Yunus.
He referred to his meetings with Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York in September 2024 and again at the D-8 Organization for Economic Cooperation Summit in Cairo in December 2024, calling them “helpful” for bilateral progress.
He added that Bangladesh and Pakistan would continue working closely in regional and multilateral forums such as SAARC, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, and the D-8.
Senior Secretary for SDG Affairs Lamiya Morshed and Pakistan High Commissioner to Bangladesh Syed Ahmed Maroof were also present during the meeting.
