The joint economic commission meeting between Bangladesh and Pakistan will be held in Dhaka on September 27 after a gap of two decades.
Finance adviser Salehuddin Ahmed will lead the Bangladesh side while the visiting side will be led by Pakistan鈥檚 finance minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, according to Economic Relations Division officials.
The officials said that the forthcoming JEC meeting between the two countries was going to take place after the eighth JEC meeting held in Dhaka on September 12, 2005.
The meeting had agreed to increase the trade volume between the two South Asian nations to $1 billion by 2007 from about $200 million and implement a proposed free trade agreement between them.
Since then no JEC meeting has been held, said the ERD officials.
Despite an inactive JEC, the trade engagement by private sectors of both the countries has continued, but the overall trade balance has been disfavouring Bangladesh.
Dhaka imported goods worth $787 million against exports of $78 million in the 2024-25 financial year. In FY24, there were imports worth $661 million against exports of $56 million.
Bangladesh imports mainly garment raw materials, leather, clinker, fabrics, cotton, onions and potatoes from Pakistan and exports tea, readymade garments and raw jute to the country.
The forthcoming JEC engagement is the sequel of the commerce ministry-level bilateral meeting held in Dhaka in the past month, almost one year after the ouster of the Awami League regime in a mass uprising.
At the meeting, both the sides agreed to revitalise the JEC.
The ERD officials said that they were now examining the areas of cooperation on trade and investment on electronics, cars, industrial machinery, carpets, toys, ceramics, sanitary products, handicrafts, fabrics, furniture, plastic goods, jute products, cosmetics, sports goods and jewellery.
In order to promote trade and economic relations, both Dhaka and Islamabad have eased the visa issuance process and pledged the maximum facilities for businesses from both sides.
The ERD officials said that the current economic diplomacy was expected to open up new scopes for promoting defence, security, educational and cultural cooperation between the two nations.
Bangladesh became independent from Pakistan through the Liberation War in 1971.