DHAKA
\nBangladesh will receive a delivery of 25,000 tonnes of rice from Pakistan next month, its food ministry said on Sunday, confirming the resumption of direct bilateral trade between the two governments after more than five decades.
\nFollowing decades of acrimonious ties, Bangladesh-Pakistan relations have started to grow after the ouster of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina last August.
\nBangladesh\u2019s interim government has had more bilateral exchanges with Pakistan since, with the chief adviser, Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, having met twice with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
\nEarlier this month, Dhaka finalized a deal to import rice from Pakistan, the food ministry said.
\n\u201cThe first consignment of 25,000 tonnes will arrive in Bangladesh on March 3,\u201d Zia Uddin Ahmed, an additional secretary at the ministry, told Arab News.
\n\u201cSince 1971, this is the first time Bangladesh initiated rice import at (the government-to-government) level from Pakistan.\u201d
\nTheir growing trade ties followed the two South Asian nations\u2019 direct maritime contact in November, when a Pakistani cargo ship docked in Bangladesh for the first time since 1971 with imports and exports organized by private businesses.
\nAmena Mohsin, an international relations expert and lecturer at the North South University, said resuming trade with Pakistan is an important move for Bangladesh.
\n\u201cWe want that bilateral relationship with Pakistan to move forward. We always diversify our relationships (but) most importantly, at the moment, we are experiencing a low point row with India \u2026 In this context, this latest decision to import rice from Pakistan is very significant,\u201d she told Arab News.
\nIn her 15 years of uninterrupted rule, Hasina\u2019s government was hostile toward Pakistan but closely allied with India, where she fled last year following a student-led popular uprising and remains exiled. Her removal from office was followed by the cooling of relations between Dhaka and New Delhi.
\n\u201cBut (as we move) forward to strengthen the bilateral ties with Pakistan, the issue of 1971 should be resolved at the same time,\u201d Mohsin added, referring to the 1971 war of independence, which he said still weighs heavy on the minds of the people of Bangladesh.
\nDhaka\u2019s decision to import rice from Pakistan has significance in addressing an ongoing crisis of the staple due to floods and economic instability, which has led the government to import large quantities from India to avoid shortage.
\n\u201cAt the moment, there is a rice crisis in the Bangladesh market, and we are in need of sourcing rice from different sources at a competitive price,\u201d Dr. Khondaker Golam Moazzem, research director at the Centre for Policy Dialogue in Dhaka, told Arab News.
\n\u201cFrom that perspective, finding a new source (for importing rice) is a positive thing for us.\u201d
\nNow that trade has resumed, Bangladesh and Pakistan have the potential to increase commerce ties in different areas, he added.
\n\u201cOur businessmen can explore the Pakistan markets and consider the feasibility in terms of costs. With this latest rice import, opportunities to import other goods have increased here,\u201d Moazzem said.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s a new addition to the market, especially considering Bangladesh\u2019s ongoing trade diversification efforts.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
DHAKA Bangladesh will receive a delivery of 25,000 tonnes of rice from Pakistan next month, its food ministry said on Sunday, confirming the resumption of direct bilateral trade between the two governments after more than five decades. Following decades of acrimonious ties, Bangladesh-Pakistan relations have started to grow after the ouster of former Prime Minister […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":463424,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-463404","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n