Bangladesh’s Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus and Pakistani Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar at a meeting in Dhaka on Sunday discussed ways to revitalise regional cooperation, particularly through the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, or SAARC.
Established in 1985, SAARC is an intergovernmental organisation of eight South Asian countries: India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Maldives, Bhutan and Afghanistan.
However, the grouping has been inactive for almost a decade because of tensions between India and Pakistan.
Its last biennial summit was in Kathmandu, Nepal, in 2014.
The 2016 summit was scheduled to be held in Islamabad but was cancelled after India withdrew following the Uri terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir. Bangladesh, Bhutan and Afghanistan had also declined to participate.
On Sunday, Yunus said that he saw Bangladesh’s relationship with Pakistan and other SAARC countries as one of Dhaka’s highest priorities.
“I encourage SAARC,” he added.
Acknowledging the challenges in regional diplomacy, he said that “several areas of collaboration, including frequent cultural exchanges” could help build stronger regional ties.
The two leaders also discussed ways to strengthen bilateral relations, with a focus on trade, youth and cultural exchanges.
Dar announced plans to expand air and sea connectivity between the two countries.
The Pakistani foreign minister also met Bangladesh’s Foreign Affairs Adviser Mohammad Touhid Hossain during his two-day visit.
The two sides signed six agreements, including one abolishing visas for diplomatic and official passport holders and another outlining a cultural exchange programme.
Four memoranda of understanding were also signed to enhance cooperation across various sectors.
Yunus, a Nobel laureate economist, took over as chief adviser of Bangladesh’s interim government three days after Sheikh Hasina resigned as the prime minister and fled to India in August 2024. Hasina fled after several weeks of widespread student-led protests against her Awami League government.
She was ousted from power after being the prime minister of Bangladesh for 16 years.
Bangladesh’s relations with India have deteriorated following the change in government in Dhaka.
New Delhi is widely considered to have viewed Hasina’s leadership as more favourable to its strategic interests.
Yunus has been working to improve relations with Pakistan, which have remained strained since Bangladesh’s independence in 1971, a war in which India played a key role.
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