Pakistan's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar is set to visit Dhaka on August 23, amid rapid progress and thaw in bilateral relations between Pakistan and Bangladesh, reports Dawn on Tuesday.
When asked by the reporters about his visit to Dhaka scheduled on August 23, Dar confirmed his upcoming visit, replying simply "Yes" to their question.
Bangladeshi news agencies reported the visit last week, saying that Dar was due on 23 August to "discuss ways to strengthen coordination with Bangladesh" and would have a meeting with Bangladesh Foreign Affairs Adviser Md Touhid Hossain on 24 August, in addition to his other engagements.
He was previously due to visit Bangladesh in April, but it was postponed.
The impending visit comes amid a growing thaw in the bilateral relationship between the two countries, separated by a bloody civil war, that saw Bangladesh preferring ties with India, keeping Pakistan at an arm's distance, especially during the tenure of the toppled Awami League government.
Ever since a popular uprising that saw Sheikh Hasina's government toppled in August of last year, with the deposed premier fleeing to her ally India, bilateral talks and trade exchange between the two countries ramped up.
Last month, Pakistan and Bangladesh agreed to grant visa-free entry to holders of diplomatic and official passports from the other side.
The deal in principle, marking a breakthrough in bilateral relations between the two states, was reached during a meeting between Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and Bangladesh's Home Minister Jahangir Alam Chowdhury.
Foreign Secretary Amna Baloch had visited Dhaka in April for Foreign Office Consultations after a 15-year break in diplomatic engagement with Bangladesh.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif held a telephone conversation with Bangladesh's interim leader Muhammad Yunus in March, where the two leaders reaffirmed their shared desire to further strengthen bilateral relations.
In February, both countries started direct government-to-government trade after decades of troubled relations, with imports of 50,000 tonnes of rice.
In January, the militaries of Pakistan and Bangladesh had stressed the need for an "enduring partnership" between the two countries to "remain resilient against external influences".
Direct private trade between the countries resumed in November 2024 when a container ship sailed from Karachi to Chittagong. It was the first cargo ship in decades to sail directly between the countries.
During a meeting with PM Shehbaz on the sidelines of the D-8 summit of developing nations in Cairo in December, Yunus had expressed the desire to resolve outstanding grievances from Dhaka's 1971 separation from Islamabad.
"The issues have kept coming again and again. Let's settle those issues for us to move forward," the AFP news agency had quoted Yunus as telling PM Shehbaz, according to a statement from the former's office.
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