Bangladesh and Pakistan are set to resume Foreign Office Consultations (FOC) after a 15-year hiatus.
The long-anticipated dialogue will take place on Thursday at the state guest house Padma in Dhaka.
Bangladesh’s Foreign Secretary Md Jashim Uddin and Pakistan’s Foreign Secretary Amna Baloch will lead their respective delegations at the meeting. Baloch, who assumed office as Pakistan’s 33rd Foreign Secretary in September 2023, is expected to arrive in Dhaka on Wednesday ahead of the talks.
The revival of the FOC comes as part of Islamabad's renewed efforts to enhance bilateral ties with Dhaka, according to a senior official at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
In a further sign of thawing relations, Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar is slated to visit Bangladesh later this month. His trip will mark the first visit by a Pakistani foreign minister since 2012.
Chief Adviser’s Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam confirmed that “all issues of mutual interest” will be discussed during Dar's visit.
Both sides have expressed satisfaction over the recent exchange of trade delegations, underlining the importance of product-specific visits from Bangladesh to Pakistan in boosting economic cooperation.
Discussions are also expected to cover tourism, cultural exchanges, people-to-people ties, international cooperation, and the Rohingya crisis.
The upcoming consultations build on a series of recent high-level interactions between the two nations. Notably, the Chief Adviser of Bangladesh and Pakistan’s Prime Minister held discussions on the sidelines of the D-8 Summit in Cairo in December 2024 and the 79th UN General Assembly in New York in September 2024.
Additionally, Bangladesh’s Foreign Adviser and Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister met during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Apia, Samoa, in October 2024.
The renewed diplomatic engagements signal cautious optimism for stronger bilateral ties between the two South Asian nations.
