DHAKA, Feb 15: Bangladesh and Pakistan will soon start formal negotiations on bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) in a bid to sign the deal by September this year, Bangladesh’s Foreign Minister Morshed Khan said here on Wednesday.

Islamabad also agreed to introduce a passenger-cum-cargo service between Dhaka and Karachi bringing in Boeing-747 jets to carry Bangladeshi export goods, including RMG, to Pakistan and beyond due to lack of a direct shipping link. Initially, this service will operate once a week, the minister added.

Briefing newsmen on the outcome of Prime Minister Khaleda Zia’s three-day visit to Pakistan, Mr Khan said Bangladesh sought Pakistan’s cooperation at the next meetings of WTO in Geneva and Washington so that some Bangladeshi garment items could get duty-free access to the US market.

Terming the prime minister’s visit fruitful, the foreign minister said the two sides had constructive and productive discussions that would help strengthen bilateral relations and cooperation in every field.

“We’ve discussed each and every issue of our bilateral interests with main focus on trade and economic cooperation,” he told the press briefing at the foreign ministry.

The foreign minister said Pakistan had agreed to give a duty-free access to 73 Bangladeshi items under nine categories, and it would be easier with a bilateral FTA in place. But as an early harvest, some more Bangladeshi items may get duty-free access.

Asked about the longstanding issue of repatriation of some 250,000 stranded Pakistanis and apportionment of pre-independence assets, he said: “We have been discussing the issue and it will continue. We’ve not let the issue die down, we’ve kept it alive.”

On the easing of visa regime, he said Pakistan had agreed to liberalize visa for professionals and businesses. Mr Khan said the Pakistan government also agreed to increase scholarships for Bangladeshi students from 75 to 100 annually for higher studies in Pakistan.

Four memorandums of understanding were signed between the two countries during the prime minister’s visit to expand cooperation in agriculture, tourism, export promotion and standardization of export products.

Besides, the Federation of Chambers of Commerce of Bangladesh and the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry signed an MoU to identify the problems, make recommendations to the respective governments and help increase the volume of two-way trade, which is now about $200 million.

The foreign minister said both the countries had agreed to take necessary steps to expand the bilateral trade to $1 billion in the next two to three years.