Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Saturday hailed the “new phase of reinvigorated partnership” between Pakistan and Bangladesh in a landmark visit to the nation on Saturday, the first state visit by a foreign minister in 13 years.

Ever since a popular uprising in Bangladesh saw Sheikh Hasina’s government being toppled in August of last year, there has been a thaw in ties between Islamabad and Dhaka, with trade and bilateral relations seeing a marked improvement.

FM Dar arrived in Dhaka earlier today for an official two-day trip. Addressing a press conference at the Pakistani High Commission in Dhaka, he extended an invitation to everyone in the gathering to visit Pakistan to engage with their counterparts and contribute to this “new phase of our reinvigorated partnership”.

“Our hearts are open and our intent is most sincere,” FM Dar noted.

The deputy PM said he wanted to underscore the federal government’s “strong desire to forge a cooperative and forward-looking relationship with Bangladesh”.

Dar said Pakistan was committed to engaging with all stakeholders, including the government, political parties, academia, civil society, media and the youth for the realisation of common goals, including peace, progress and prosperity of the two nations and the region.

He said his visit came at a time when the region and the world were undergoing a “rapid transformation”, adding that the challenges of climate change, economic volatility, global inequality and security threats threatened everyone.

“We must work together to create an environment where youth from Karachi to Chittagong, Quetta to Rajshahi, Peshawar to Sylhet and Lahore to Dhaka joined hands to face these challenges and realise their shared dreams.”

He said he was glad to note that bilateral relations had witnessed many positive developments in the past year and there was “significant progress in almost all streams of bilateral cooperation” with an increase in the frequency of high-level exchanges, institutionalised mechanisms of bilateral engagements were being revived, economic and commercial cooperation was gaining momentum, educational and academic collaboaration was being explored and cultural exchanges were also taking place.

“In a nutshell, today, our bilateral relations are characterised by a new energy and........

© Dawn Business