During a Monday meeting with Bangladesh’s Chief Advisor Professor Muhammad Yunus, Pakistan’s High Commissioner Imran Haider expressed optimism about launching direct flights between Karachi and Dhaka in January.
Pakistan-Bangladesh relations remained tense under Sheikh Hasina’s tenure. However, under Professor Yunus’s interim administration in Dhaka, bilateral ties have significantly improved since the popular uprising that resulted in her removal and exile.
A statement shared on X by Bangladesh’s interim leader noted, “During the meeting, both sides discussed ways to expand cooperation in trade, investment, and aviation, as well as scaling up cultural, educational, and medical exchanges to further strengthen bilateral relations between the two South Asian nations.”
Haider emphasized that companies in both nations are actively looking for new investment opportunities, and bilateral trade has increased by 20 percent from the previous year.
The high commissioner also said that there has been a “significant increase” in cultural exchanges and that Bangladeshi students are very interested in studying in Pakistan, particularly in medical sciences, nanotechnology, and artificial intelligence.
“Pakistan has witnessed a rise in patients travelling to its leading hospitals for liver and kidney transplants,” the envoy added.
The statement further reported that Pakistan is prepared to provide “training and academic opportunities in transplantation-related medical fields.”
Bangladesh’s interim leader welcomed the “growing interactions between the two countries” and emphasised the “importance of increased visits, as well as cultural, educational, and people-to-people exchanges among SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) member states.”
“Professor Yunus also underscored the need to further boost Bangladesh–Pakistan trade,” the statement continued.
The interim leader expressed hope that during the current high commissioner’s tenure, both countries would be able to “explore new avenues for investment and joint venture businesses.”
Professor Yunus also met with Ishaq Dar, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister in August. Both countries underlined the significance of reviving regional collaboration under the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) during the historic visit to Dhaka.
The Foreign Office (FO) described Dar’s two-day trip the first visit by a Pakistani foreign minister to Bangladesh in 13 years as a “significant milestone” in bilateral relations.
A month prior, Pakistan and Bangladesh had agreed to allow visa-free entry for holders of diplomatic and official passports.