Govt to form Trade and Investment Commission with Pakistan: Adviser Bashir

The government has decided to form a Trade and Investment Commission with Pakistan to enhance bilateral trade and investment cooperation, Commerce Adviser Sheikh Bashir Uddin said today.

"We had very intensive discussions. We are working on forming a new Trade and Investment Commission," the adviser told reporters. "Besides, the Bangladesh-Pakistan Joint Economic Commission, which has remained inactive for the past decade and a half, will be reactivated".

The decision was announced following a meeting at the Secretariat between Sk Bashir Uddin and Pakistan's Federal Commerce Minister Jam Kamal Khan, who is currently on an official visit to Dhaka.

The talks also revolved around removing anti-dumping duties on hydrogen peroxide exports, market access, and sugar production. The commerce adviser also emphasised that if Bangladesh and Pakistan jointly, or through foreign investment, can produce intermediate goods, it would be mutually beneficial for both countries.

According to sources at the meeting, both sides agreed to create a "Bangladesh-Pakistan Joint Trade Roadmap Initiative" aimed at boosting imports and exports.

Under the initiative, two Joint Working Groups, consisting of government officials and businessmen from both countries, will be formed. Their mandate will be to examine which products and services could be traded between the two nations, prepare a detailed roadmap, and work towards implementation.

The sources further said Adviser Bashir mentioned that his ministry would sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to establish the Joint Trade and Investment Commission. 

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other ministries were also preparing to sign separate MoUs with Pakistan.

In a separate development regarding ties between the two nations, Dhaka and Islamabad have agreed on visa-free travel for holders of diplomatic and official passports.

The agreement, valid for five years, was approved at a meeting of the Advisory Council Committee chaired by Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus, said Shafiqul Alam, CA's press secretary, at a press briefing held at the Foreign Service Academy in the capital.

Shafiqul said Bangladesh had already signed similar agreements with 30 countries. "With the addition of Pakistan, the total number of such agreements now stands at 31," he told reporters.

At the briefing, Chief Adviser's Deputy Press Secretary Azad Majumder said the Pakistan government has approved the agreement.

Trade and diplomatic relations between Bangladesh and Pakistan remained stagnant for much of the last 16 years under the Awami League government. 

However, after the fall of the Hasina administration in August last year, Dhaka and Islamabad began re-engaging at multiple levels.

In April this year, the two sides held their first foreign secretary-level talks in Dhaka in 14 years, signalling renewed interest in closer ties. 

Last March, Bangladesh also imported 50,000 tonnes of non-parboiled rice from Pakistan on a government-to-government basis – a move seen as a positive gesture towards expanding bilateral trade.

Although a Joint Economic Commission existed in name, it had been dormant for a decade and a half. After the fall of the Hasina government, Pakistan stepped up its efforts to revive the commission and formally proposed to Bangladesh that a meeting be convened – to which Dhaka responded positively.

Industry reactions

Business leaders expressed cautious optimism about the new initiative.

Mahmud Hasan Khan, president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), told TBS that the garment sector could find new opportunities if linked more closely with Pakistan's textile industry.

"Pakistan has a strong capacity in textiles. We already import fabric from them, and there is scope to expand this further. In textile chemicals too, Pakistan has an advantage. They could invest in Bangladesh, or we could utilise their capacity and expertise," he said.

Former member of the Bangladesh Trade and Tariff Commission, Dr Mostafa Abid Khan, struck a more measured tone. He pointed out that due to years of weak engagement with Pakistan, the benefits of a new commission were still unclear.

"We do not yet have studies on where exactly trade and investment opportunities lie. But Pakistan is better than Bangladesh in cotton textiles. If we can attract Pakistani investment in that area, it would be good for us," he said.

Anti-dumping duties, market access, sugar production

Meanwhile, the government has sought withdrawal of Pakistan's anti-dumping duties.

At the press conference today, Bashir said Bangladesh has requested the withdrawal of Pakistan's anti-dumping duties on hydrogen peroxide exports. "They have given assurances," he noted, adding that Dhaka also sought Pakistani support for developing the country's leather and sugar industries.

Bangladesh once enjoyed a duty-free quota of 10 million kilogrammes of tea exports to Pakistan, Bashir reminded, and the government has asked for that facility to be reinstated.

The adviser also pointed out that Bangladesh annually imports around $80 billion worth of goods, including $15 billion of food and intermediate products. 

"There is ample opportunity to expand trade in these products between the two countries. That is why a new Trade and Investment Commission is being formed," he said. The discussions also covered agriculture and food products, including the possibility of two-way trade in fruit.

Domestic sugar production

Commerce Adviser Bashir further told journalists that Bangladesh has invited Pakistani investment in intermediate goods manufacturing and sought Islamabad's assistance in improving the country's sugar production capacity.

"They have responded positively to all our proposals, and these issues will be further discussed in the new commission," he said.

Asked whether Bangladesh was leaning towards Pakistan, he clarified, "We are leaning towards everyone – Pakistan, the United States, even importing onions from India. Bangladesh's interest comes first; wherever our national interest lies, that is where we lean."

Industrial cooperation talks

On the same day, Industries Adviser Adilur Rahman Khan met with Pakistan's commerce minister to discuss possible cooperation between the Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI) and Pakistan's Halal Authority.

The meeting was held at the Ministry of Industries and the two sides also explored joint initiatives in industrial development, agriculture, and trade. 

Adilur highlighted opportunities for Pakistani participation in Bangladesh's sugar, leather, cement, shipbuilding, and agriculture sectors.

He stressed that people-to-people connections would be key to deepening bilateral relations.

A Joint Working Group has already been formed to promote sugar industry development, and Pakistani minister Jam Kamal Khan expressed interest in cooperation across multiple areas, including food security and investment.

The meeting was attended by Pakistan's newly appointed High Commissioner in Dhaka Imran Haider, Industries Secretary Md Obaidur Rahman, and BSTI Director General SM Ferdous Alam.