What agreements, MoUs were signed between Bangladesh and Pakistan

Bangladesh and Pakistan have signed one agreement, four memoranda of understanding (MoUs), and one programme.

The agreements, MoUs, and programme were signed at Hotel Sonargaon in Dhaka on Sunday afternoon. Bangladesh’s Foreign Affairs Adviser Md Touhid Hossain and Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar were present at the ceremony.

Earlier, a bilateral meeting was held at the foreign ministers’ level. The Bangladesh side was led by Adviser Touhid Hossain, while Pakistan was represented by Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar.

Agreement signed

The two countries signed a visa exemption agreement for holders of official and diplomatic passports.

MoUs signed

The MoUs signed include: Formation of a Joint Working Group on trade issues; Cooperation between the foreign service academies of both countries; Cooperation between the state news agencies of Bangladesh (BSS) and Pakistan (APP); Cooperation between the Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BIISS) and the Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad (ISSI).

Programme signed

A Cultural Exchange Programme (CEP) was signed between Bangladesh and Pakistan.

Earlier in the morning, Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar held a breakfast meeting with Bangladesh’s Trade Adviser Sheikh Bashiruddin.

This afternoon, Ishaq Dar is scheduled to pay a courtesy call on Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Shafiqur Rahman at his residence. Multiple diplomatic sources told Prothom Alo that at around 2:30 pm, Ishaq Dar would visit Shafiqur Rahman’s home in Dhaka’s Bashundhara Residential Area.

In the evening, Ishaq Dar will pay a courtesy call on Chief Adviser of the interim government Professor Muhammad Yunus.

Later tonight, he is expected to visit BNP Chairperson and former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia at her residence in Gulshan to inquire about her health, said BNP media cell member Shairul Kabir Khan on Saturday.

Ishaq Dar arrived in Dhaka on Saturday for a two-day official visit. He landed at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport at around 2:00 pm on a special flight of the Pakistan Air Force and was received by Foreign Secretary Asad Alam.

On the first day of his Dhaka trip, Ishaq Dar held separate meetings with leaders of the BNP, Jamaat-e-Islami, and the National Citizens’ Party (NCP). In these meetings, he discussed expanding bilateral ties in political and other areas.

He reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to strengthening relations on the basis of mutual respect and interest, according to diplomatic sources.