Dhaka: Pakistan’s Foreign Secretary Amna Baloch arrived in Bangladesh Wednesday to hold the Foreign Office Consultation (FOC) Thursday after a gap of 15 years.
A Bangladesh foreign ministry spokesman said that the Director General of the South Asia Wing, Ishrat Jahan, welcomed Baloch upon arrival at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport here.
Baloch will hold talks with her Bangladesh counterpart M Jashim Uddin at the state guest house ‘Padma’ Thursday.
Officials familiar with the matter said no specific agenda was fixed for the talks as all areas of mutual interest were likely to be covered during the discussion.
“After such a long hiatus, it is difficult to prioritise topics in advance, but the talks will be comprehensive,” a foreign office spokesman said Tuesday.
The last FOC between Bangladesh and Pakistan was held in 2010.
Baloch will also pay courtesy calls on the interim government Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus and Foreign Affairs Adviser M Touhid Hossain following the FOC.
Dhaka-Islamabad relations were at the lowest ebb during the deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s regime, particularly since 2010 when Dhaka initiated the trial of hardened collaborators of Pakistani troops during Bangladesh’s 1971 Liberation War.
However, the ties took a positive course since Yunus’ interim government assumed power after the ouster of Hasina in a student-led uprising August 5 last year.
The foreign secretary-level meeting is being held ahead of the planned visit of deputy prime minister and foreign minister Ishaq Dar to Dhaka later this month, which will be the maiden visit by a Pakistani foreign minister since 2012.
PTI
