- By: Isha Anjum & Areeba Shafqat
After the fall of Hasina Wajid’s rule in Bangladesh and the formation of a new interim government, a new era of Pak-Bangladesh relations has begun.
Distances have once again turned into kinship and now trade between the two brotherly countries has also begun, which was a taboo during Hasina Wajid’s rule.
Bangladesh has purchased 25,000 tons of sugar from Pakistan after many decades, which will reach Chittagong Port from Karachi Port next month. Bangladesh has previously been importing sugar from India.
Recently, trade through sea routes was dramatically restored after 54 years. A Pakistani cargo ship anchored at the southeastern port of Bangladesh. Pakistan’s exports to Bangladesh in the fiscal year 2024 were $660.74 million and imports from Bangladesh were $56.55 million.
The warm and new progress in trade relations between the two countries is also a result of the meeting between Bangladesh Chief Advisor Dr. Muhammad Yunus and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif during the UN session, in which both leaders stressed the importance of restoring trade contacts. Defense production and bilateral investment agreements will also be signed in the coming days.
Pakistan has made deals of 600,000 tons of sugar this year, including deals of 70,000 tons with Central Asian states. Thailand has purchased 50,000 tons of sugar from the sugar industry. Gulf states, Arab countries and African countries have also signed purchase agreements. Pakistan will earn 400 to 500 million dollars from sugar exports. With the efforts of the country’s political and military leadership, the sugar industry is also successfully exporting sugar that was previously smuggled to Central Asian states via Afghanistan and Afghanistan.