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Bangladesh and Pakistan hold Foreign Office Consultations in Dhaka on Thursday. | UNB photo

Bangladesh and Pakistan are now holding Foreign Office Consultations as the two South Asian countries are keen to strengthen their ties.

Foreign secretary Md Jashim Uddin and Pakistan鈥檚 foreign secretary Amna Baloch are leading their respective delegation at the FOC being held at the State Guest House Padma.


The FOC marks the first such meeting since 2010.

Director general of South Asia wing at Bangladesh鈥檚 Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ishrat Jahan and high commissioners of Bangladesh and Pakistan are also attending the meeting.

Pakistan wanted to hold the consultations with Bangladesh as part of Islamabad鈥檚 efforts to strengthen the ties with Dhaka.

Pakistan鈥檚 deputy prime minister and foreign minister Ishaq Dar is also scheduled to pay an official visit to Bangladesh later this month.

Chief adviser鈥檚 press secretary Shafiqul Alam on Tuesday said there would be discussions on all issues of mutual interest as the deputy prime minister of Pakistan is coming.

Ishaq Dar鈥檚 upcoming trip to Dhaka will mark the first visit by a Pakistani foreign minister since 2012.

Both sides, in their recent interactions, expressed satisfaction over recent visits of several trade delegations from Pakistan to Bangladesh and emphasised the importance of visits by the product specific trade delegations from Bangladesh to Pakistan.

Pakistani singer Mustafa Zahid鈥檚 concert abruptly postponed, artists left in the dark.

Cooperation in the sectors of tourism, people-to-people contacts, cultural exchanges, the issue of forcibly displaced Rohingyas and cooperation in the international forum were also discussed.

Both sides recalled the substantive discussion between Bangladesh鈥檚 chief adviser and the prime minister of Pakistan during their meetings in Cairo on the sidelines of D-8 Summit in December 2024 and in New York in September 2024 on the sidelines of the 79th UNGA.

They also recalled the meeting between the foreign adviser and deputy prime minister and foreign minister of Pakistan on the sidelines of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Apia, Samoa in October 2024.