Bangladesh, Pakistan push to deepen trade ties through joint working group

Dhaka: Bangladesh and Pakistan have agreed to expedite efforts to strengthen bilateral trade by convening a meeting of the Joint Working Group (JWG) on Trade at the earliest, as both sides seek to unlock the untapped potential of commercial cooperation.

The understanding came during a meeting between a delegation of the Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP), led by its Chairman Aasim Azeem Siddiqui, and Bangladesh's Commerce, Industries, Textiles and Jute Minister Khandakar Abdul Muktadir in Dhaka.

TCP Chief Executive Officer Syed Rafeo Bashir Shah and Pakistan High Commissioner to Bangladesh Imran Haider were also present at the meeting, read a press release from the Pakistan High Commission in Dhaka on June 30.

The two sides explored ways to strengthen business-to-business (B2B) linkages and expand bilateral trade. They agreed to hold the Joint Working Group on Trade meeting at the earliest to boost trade cooperation, identify new areas of collaboration, and address existing trade barriers.

TCP Chairman Siddiqui thanked the commerce minister for his interest in promoting stronger economic and trade relations between the two neighboring countries.

In a separate meeting, the TCP chairman and CEO held talks with Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) Chairman Brigadier General Mohammad Foyshol Azad, PSC.

The discussions focused on enhancing cooperation in food security and strengthening institutional mechanisms to facilitate bilateral trade, particularly in essential commodities.

The meetings reflect growing efforts by both countries to expand economic engagement and improve trade cooperation through institutional collaboration and closer coordination between their state trading agencies.