Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN) – Foreign secretaries of Bangladesh and Pakistan will hold an annual consultation after a four-year interval on bilateral relations in November 1-2 this year, officials said.
The Bangladesh foreign secretary, Mohamed Mijarul Quayes, and his Pakistani counterpart, Salman Bashir, will hold the consultation in Pakistan capital Islamabad, a foreign ministry official confirmed.
They will discuss different issues including reduction in trade gap, strengthening economic cooperation and restoration of the link between Chittagong and Karachi seaports, the New Age, a local newspaper, reported quoting a foreign ministry official.
The Bangladesh government held an inter-ministerial meeting in this connection on Tuesday with its foreign secretary in the chair.
Unresolved issues between Dhaka and Islamabad include unconditional apology from Islamabad for the atrocities committed on Bangladeshi people by the Pakistani occupation forces in 1971, distribution of assets of the erstwhile Pakistan worth $4.32 billion and repatriation of stranded Pakistanis, the official added.
The volume of bilateral trade between the two countries has been quite ‘insignificant’ for years because of the lack of proper initiatives.
The balance of trade, according to official data, has remained in favour of Pakistan over the past 19 years.
Bangladesh exported goods and commodities worth only US$76.21 million to Pakistan in fiscal year 2008-09 while Pakistan exported worth $288.38 million in the same period to Bangladesh.
BBN/SSR/SI-27Oct10-1:36 pm (BST)
