Dhaka [Bangladesh], August 22 (ANI): Pakistan's Minister of Commerce Jam Kamal Khan and Bangladesh's Adviser for Commerce Sk Bashir Uddin held in-depth discussions in Dhaka on Thursday to advance economic cooperation, mutual investments and strengthen bilateral trade ties, officials said on Friday.

The two countries are in the process of establishing a Joint Working Group on Trade to enhance the economic ties and foster greater cooperation in trade between the two countries. Both sides agreed to re-activate the Joint Economic Commission (JEC) forum to work out a comprehensive strategy for promoting trade, investment and economic collaborations. The last meeting of the JEC was held in 2005. It was also agreed to form a Joint Trade Commission, which would present a roadmap for building on the existing bilateral trade relations, set goals for future commercial ties and define steps to achieve those targets, they added.

The Minister and Adviser discussed sectors including agricultural modernisation, renewable energy, steel industry, green ship breaking, ship building, dates, minerals, construction aggregates, halal trade, sugar, leather, rice, dehydrated fruits and agro-processing. It was noted that connectivity and logistics for trade should be improved and economised for cost-cutting, officials said.

Matters related to the reduction of tariffs and duties and preferential access to certain Bangladeshi products to the Pakistani market also came under discussion, they said.

Both sides underscored that there was a vast untapped potential of bilateral trade and people of our two countries were all set to benefit from those opportunities. The two governments should build on the existing momentum and swiftly move to create a more conducive environment, they said.

The Minister of Commerce for Pakistan, Jam Kamal Khan, also held a meeting with Bangladesh's Adviser for Food, Ali Imam Majumdar, in Dhaka on the same day to discuss possible collaborations in food security, the officials said.

Both sides expressed satisfaction at the MoU on rice between Trading Corporation of Pakistan and the Directorate General of Food, Bangladesh - signed in January 2025, under which Pakistan has successfully delivered 50,000 MT of rice. It was agreed that the MoU will work as a gateway for regular exchanges of delegations on both government-to-government and business-to-business levels for enhancing trade of essential commodities, they said.

The Minister also noted that the upcoming 3rd International Food and Agricultural Exhibition (FoodAg), which is being held in Karachi on 25-27 November 2025, provides an opportunity for Bangladeshi businesses and government officials to have an in-depth understanding of Pakistan's agricultural landscape, they said.

The Adviser and the Minister stressed the need to enhance the yield of crops by improving agricultural practices to meet the growing demands of food commodities in both countries.

The meeting concluded with the commitment to build on the present collaboration through multiple stakeholder engagement and joint efforts, they said. (ANI)