Pakistan Foreign Secretary Amna Baloch arrived in Dhaka yesterday on a two-day visit to attend the Foreign Office Consultation (FOC), the first such diplomatic engagement in 15 years, as Dhaka and Islamabad seek to normalise relations.

Foreign Secretary Jashim Uddin will lead the Bangladesh side and Amna Baloch will lead the Pakistan side at the FOC to be held at the State Guest House Padma today.

After the FOC, Amna Baloch will also call on Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus and Foreign Adviser Touhid Hossain. She will also attend an interaction with the think-tanks and Pakistani diaspora in Dhaka in the evening.

The FOC is being held ahead of Pakistan's Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar's visit to Bangladesh, expected on April 27–28.

Relations between the countries have been warming since the fall of the Awami League-led government on August 5 last year.

Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Yunus met twice since then: first on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York in September last year and later at the D-8 summit in Cairo in December.

Since then, Bangladesh has eased visa rules for Pakistani nationals and launched direct shipping. Pakistan is keen to organise cultural exchange and boost trade, tourism and investment.

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"Pakistan sees potential for boosting exports to Bangladesh, especially if their products are price competitive," said Bangladesh High Commissioner to Pakistan Iqbal Hussain Khan, who is now in Dhaka for the meeting.

Pakistan aims to export products like cotton, sugar, rice and wheat, he said. In fiscal 2023–24, Bangladesh exported $61.98 million to Pakistan and imported goods worth $627.8 million.

As Pakistan serves as a gateway for goods from Afghanistan and Iran, Dhaka can export many goods from those countries through Pakistan, Khan added.

Discussions are also underway on starting direct flights between Bangladesh and Pakistan, he added.

In the last FOC in 2015, discussions were held on several issues, including Pakistan's unconditional apology for the 1971 war crimes, compensation for war damages, repatriation of stranded Pakistanis, Bangladesh's rightful share of pre-1971 assets and repayment of foreign aid during the 1970 cyclone.

Asked about the unresolved issues, Khan said such matters often persist in bilateral relations but should not hinder current engagement or economic cooperation.