DHAKA, July 30: Pakistan and Bangladesh on Tuesday signed two agreements to promote cooperation in foreign affairs, culture and education and trade and industrial sectors.

The agreements were signed after the talks between President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia in Dhaka today.

The first protocol on bilateral consultations between the ministries of foreign affairs of the two countries aims at further enhancing and strengthening of friendly cooperative relations and to increase bilateral cooperation in mutually agreed fields.

Under the protocol, the foreign secretaries of the two countries will hold regular consultations on an annual basis alternately in Dhaka and Islamabad.

The protocol says the two countries will inform each other on key aspects of their internal and external policies and their positions on major international issues and will continue the practice of consultations in international organizations and other international fora.

The protocol was signed by the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Inamul Haq, and Bangladesh Foreign Minister Murshad Khan.

The second agreement deals with promotion of scientific, educational and cultural relations between the two countries.

It provides for award of scholarships, admission of students in educational institutions on self-financing basis on reciprocal basis, establishment of relations between universities, exchange of recorded radio and TV programmes, establishment of bureau offices of news agencies of the two countries in each other’s capital, and exchange of delegations, folklore troupes, exhibitions of folk arts and crafts, and exchange of visits of official delegations.

The President of Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Iftikhar Malik, and his Bangladeshi counterpart Yussuf Abdullah Haroon also signed an MoU for the establishment of a joint business council.

President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia witnessed the signing ceremony.—APP