ISLAMABAD, Feb 10: Pakistan and Bangladesh are expected to sign four Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) and one agreement in diverse areas during Bangladeshi Prime Minister Khaleda Zia’s three-day official visit here from February 12, diplomatic sources told Dawn on Friday.
The four MoUs will be on agriculture cooperation, promotion of tourism, cooperation between two export promotion bureaus and on standardization of weights and measures, sources said. A bilateral agreement on visa abolition of diplomatic and official passports is also on the cards, it is learnt.
The agreements are aimed at consolidating the existing close ties between the two South Asian countries, officials here maintain.
Pakistan and Bangladesh already have a mechanism in place for bilateral annual consultations between their foreign secretaries and also have ongoing security cooperation in intelligence-sharing.
Prime Minister Khaleda Zia is scheduled to arrive here on Sunday afternoon. She will be leading a 50-member delegation comprising ministers, parliamentarians, senior officials and 35 businessmen. Ministers of foreign affairs, agriculture and health will be accompanying her.
Notably, this will be the first high-level bilateral visit from Bangladesh in 13 years even though Pakistani President Gen Pervez Musharraf visited Bangladesh in 2002.
However, the leaders of both countries have had regular interaction on the sidelines of various regional and multilateral forums.
The Bangladeshi prime minister last visited Pakistan in January 2004 to attend the 12th Saarc Summit in Islamabad. Her Pakistani counterpart also visited Dhaka in November 2005 to attend the 13th Saarc Summit.
On Monday, the Bangladeshi premier will hold delegation-level talks with Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz who will also host a banquet in her honour. The following day she will call on President Gen Musharraf who will be hosting her for lunch.
During her stay in the capital, Prime Minister Khaleda Zia will also visit the earthquake relief camp in sector H-8.
Foreign Ministry officials said the talks would cover all aspects of Pakistan-Bangladesh relations and focus on important regional and international issues of mutual interest. Given that this will be the Bangladeshi premier’s first visit after taking over as the Saarc chairperson last November Saarc-related issues will also come up for discussions.
Foreign Office Spokesperson Tasnim Aslam told a weekly news briefing on Monday that Pakistan and Bangladesh have traditionally enjoyed excellent fraternal relations and both the countries had convergences on regional and international issues.
“Our relationship is based on the principles of sovereign equality and non-interference in each other’s internal affairs and mutual respect,” the spokesperson underscored.
She said that Pakistan and Bangladesh had worked closely on the bilateral level as well as in international forums like the OIC, Commonwealth, NAM, D-8, and Saarc.
