Pakistan And Bangladesh Resume Ties To Boost Trade And Defence Cooperation – OpEd
Pakistan and Bangladesh resumed formal diplomatic talks in April 2025, marking the first Foreign Office-level meeting since 2010. Dr. Muhammad Yunus met Pakistan’s PM Shahbaz Sharif multiple times at the UN General Assembly in New York and later at the Developing-8 Summit in Cairo,highlighting Bangladesh’s interest in expanding its alliances. Relations warmed rapidly since the ouster of former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wajid, who was close friend to India, and was forced out by massive student-led protests in August 2024.
Lieutenant General S M Kamr-ul-Hassan of the Bangladesh Army travelled Pakistan to meet Pakistan’s Army Chief, General Asim Munir in January 2025. In February, 2025 Bangladesh’s naval chief, Admiral Mohammad Nazmul Hassan also visited followed by Pakistani Foreign Secretary Amna Baloch who travelled Dhaka. Bangladesh showed interest in military cooperation, including acquiring JF-17 Thunder fighter jets, and took part in the ‘AMAN-25 Naval Exercises’.
Economic engagement focused on expanding trade, tourism, transit and cultural ties, with Bangladesh easing visa restrictions and resuming direct cargo shipments. Pakistan has set $ 3 billion bilateral trade target, emphasizing exports of sugar, wheat, cotton, and textiles. Both Pakistan and Bangladesh are pursuing collaboration in academic, technical, and industrial sectors, including agriculture, fisheries, maritime studies and garments. The durability of this thaw between both depend on managing external pressures especially of India’s potential role as a spoiler in the South Asian region.
After Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar’s visit on Saturday, 23 August 2025, the two countries held their first bilateral meeting in 13 years. The two nations agreed to enhance trade, investment and cooperation. Ishaq Dar’s visit to Bangladesh marked the highest-level Pakistani trip to Dhaka since 2012, hailed as a historic milestone in bilateral relations. Both countries signed six agreements, including visa exemptions and MoUs on trade, culture, and academic exchanges. Bangladesh stressed market access and balanced ties, while both sides aimed for broader regional and multilateral engagement beyond their bilateral relationship. Ishaq Dar said that Pakistan and Bangladesh must work together to create an environment where youth from Karachi to Chittagong, Quetta to Rajshahi, Peshawar to Sylhet and Lahore to Dhaka join hands to face challenges and realise their shared dreams. Pakistan and Bangladesh are set to sign trade agreements and last year’s sea trade. Officials discussed boosting economic cooperation, connectivity, and direct Dhaka-Karachi flights.
Regime change has historically shaped Bangladesh’s relations with India and Pakistan, alternating between friendship and antagonism. Pakistan may seek to leverage current tensions in Bangladesh-India ties. For decades, both Islamabad and New Delhi have viewed relations with Dhaka through the lens of their 1971 war-era rivalry. During his two-day visit, Ishaq Dar held extensive meetings, including discussions with Dr. Yunus and Foreign Affairs Adviser Touhid Hossain, and engaged with leaders from various political parties, such as the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), and the student-led National Citizen Party (NCP), which played a key role in the protests that ousted Hasina’s government.
The recent momentum in Pakistan-Bangladesh relations signals a potential reset in South Asian diplomacy, with both nations seeking to expand cooperation beyond historical grievances. While opportunities exist in trade, defense, and cultural exchanges, the sustainability of this rapprochement will hinge on managing regional rivalries, especially India’s role, and fostering long-term trust to ensure that renewed ties translate into lasting stability and shared prosperity.
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