ISLAMABAD, 13 February 2006 — Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Khaleda Zia arrived here yesterday on a two-day visit to discuss with Pakistani leaders a range of bilateral and regional issues, including trade and economic cooperation.
Khaleda was met by her Pakistani counterpart Shaukat Aziz on arrival at an air force base near the capital, Islamabad.
She will have a formal meetings with Aziz and President Pervez Musharraf today, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Tasneem Aslam said.
Pakistan and Bangladesh were expected to sign at least three agreements on export promotion, agriculture and tourism during Khaleda’s visit, Bangladesh’s Foreign Secretary Hemayetuddin said. Dhaka will also seek duty-free access for 73 export items to the Pakistani market, aiming to lower a huge trade imbalance that favors Pakistan.
Last year, Bangladesh imported $138.63 million worth of Pakistani goods, while exports amounted to $63 million, according to figures from Bangladesh’s government.
Commentators say the visiting premier would also raise the issue of refugees who fled to eastern Pakistan after the division of the Indian subcontinent in 1947. Eastern Pakistan then became Bangladesh after a bloody war of independence in 1971.
Pakistan has accepted some of the refugees who opposed the creation of Bangladesh but about 250,000 are still in crammed and filthy camps with high unemployment and no voting rights.
