Bangladesh, Pakistan hold Foreign Office Consultation after 15 years

Dhaka | Bangladesh and Pakistan on Thursday held a foreign secretary-level Foreign Office Consultation here after a gap of nearly 15 years and discussed the entire range of bilateral issues focusing on trade ties.

The meeting took place days ahead of Pakistan's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar's visit to Dhaka.

Bangladesh Foreign Secretary Jashim Uddin and Pakistan's Foreign Secretary Amna Baloch led their respective sides during the Foreign Office Consultation (FOC) held at the state guest house Padma, state-run news agency Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS) said.

During the meeting, the two sides discussed the entire range of bilateral issues focusing on trade ties between the two nations, the BSS said.

Baloch, who arrived here on Wednesday, is scheduled to pay courtesy calls on Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus and Foreign Affairs Adviser Touhid Hossain later in the day.

The last FOC between Bangladesh and Pakistan was held in 2010.

Dar's scheduled visit to Dhaka later this month, will be the maiden visit to Bangladesh by a Pakistani foreign minister since 2012.

Dhaka-Islamabad relations were at the lowest ebb during the deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina's regime, particularly since 2010 when Dhaka initiated the trial of hardened collaborators of Pakistani troops during Bangladesh's 1971 Liberation War.

However, the ties took a positive course since Yunus' interim government assumed power after the ouster of Hasina in a student-led uprising on August 5 last year.