Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and Bangladesh Adviser for Commerce Sheikh Bashiruddin on Sunday discussed ways to promote economic and commercial cooperation, with a special focus on enhancing trade and promoting connectivity.

Ishaq Dar had a breakfast meeting with Bangladesh Adviser for Commerce Sheikh Bashiruddin in Dhaka.

Minister of Commerce Jam Kamal Khan also joined the meeting, a Foreign Office spokesperson said in a statement.

“In-depth discussions were held on bilateral trade, investment and economic cooperation,” the statement said.

During the meeting, several agreements and memoranda of agreement were signed. One of the agreements included visa-free entry for diplomatic and official passport holders.

Other agreements involved cooperation between foreign service academies, as well as a collaborative agreement between the Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad (ISSI) and the Bangladesh Institute of Strategic Studies.

Both countries also signed an agreement to establish a Joint Working Group to promote trade.

On this occasion, Additional Foreign Secretary Imran Ahmed Siddiqui, Pakistan’s High Commissioner to Bangladesh Imran Haider, and Bangladesh’s High Commissioner to Pakistan Md. Iqbal Hussain Khan were also present at the meeting.

Dar arrived in Bangladesh on Saturday in the most high-profile visit by a Pakistani official to Dhaka in recent years.

His visit follows months of increased contact between the two South Asian nations.

Commerce Minister Jam Kamal has been in Dhaka this week discussing trade and agricultural collaboration, while Pakistan’s foreign secretary Amna Baloch held the first bilateral consultations with Bangladesh in 15 years in April.

The Bangladesh adviser was accompanied by Chowdhury Ashik Mahmud Bin Harun, Chairman, Bangladesh Investment Development Authority; Dr Ahsan H. Mansur, Governor, Bangladesh Bank; Md. Abdur Rahman Khan FCMA, Chairman, National Board of Revenue & Secretary, Internal Resources Division; Md. Abdur Rauf, Secretary, Ministry of Textiles and Jute; Moinul Khan, Chairman, Bangladesh Trade and Tariff Commission; Nasreen Jahan, Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism; Mahbubur Rahman, Secretary, Ministry of Commerce; Brigadier General Mohammad Foyshol Azad, Chairman, Trading Corporation of Bangladesh; and Md. Iqbal Hussain Khan, and High Commissioner of Bangladesh to Pakistan.