A 24-member delegation from the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) is scheduled to stay in Dhaka from 10-15 January, said sources within the Ministry of Commerce.
According to a letter from the Pakistan High Commission to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the visit is being made at the invitation of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI).
The delegation will be led by Atif Ikram Sheikh, president of the FPCCI, and senior vice president Sakib Fayaz Magun.
The group will consist of prominent industrialists from various sectors in Pakistan.
During their visit, the Pakistani business delegation is expected to meet with key officials, including Muhammad Yunus, chief adviser to the interim government, Sheikh Bashir Uddin, commerce adviser, Chowdhury Ashik Mahmud bin Harun, chairman of the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA), and Anwar Hossain, vice chairman of the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB).
On 6 January, a six-member delegation from TCP, led by chairman Syed Rafiq Bashir Shah, arrived in Dhaka.
The delegation members are scheduled to meet with senior officials from the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) on Tuesday (7 January).
It is expected that an agreement, possibly a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), will be signed between the trade organisations of both countries. Notably, discussions regarding rice imports are anticipated to be a focal point.
The recent arrival of two ships carrying containers directly from Karachi to the port of Chittagong has spurred optimism about the potential for growing trade between the two nations.
During a meeting with Pakistan’s High Commissioner to Bangladesh Ahmad Maruf, on 2 September last year, Home Affairs Adviser, Lieutenant General (retd.) Md Jahangir Alam Chowdhury, was informed that Bangladeshi citizens would no longer have to pay visa fees for travel to Pakistan, in line with the country’s new visa policy.
This is part of a broader initiative to facilitate travel for citizens from 126 countries, including Bangladesh.
