Dhaka on Thursday reiterated its call to Pakistan to offer an official apology for the genocide committed in Bangladesh’s Liberation War of 1971.
The call was made while the newly appointed High Commissioner of Pakistan to Bangladesh Imran Ahmed Siddiqui paid a courtesy call on State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md. Shahriar Alam at foreign ministry, a press release said.
The junior minister also reiterated the importance of resolving other outstanding bilateral issues with Pakistan including completing repatriation of Pakistanis stranded in Bangladesh and settling the issue of the division of assets.
During the meeting, the state minister said enhancing relations with all neighbouring countries was a foreign policy priority of the government.
“In line with that spirit, we look forward to engaging with Pakistan”, he said.
He urged Pakistan to grant access to more Bangladeshi products by utilizing the existing SAFTA provisions, relaxing the negative list and removing trade barriers as the current trade balance tilts towards Pakistan.
The Pakistani envoy said that he would give due diligence to advancing bilateral relations in every possible area of cooperation. Both the sides agreed on need to hold the long-pending Foreign Office Consultations, which was last held in 2010.
