Pakistan High Commissioner to Bangladesh Imran Haider today paid a courtesy call on Social Welfare and Women and Children Affairs Minister Prof. Dr. AZM Zahid Hossain. Photo : PID

DHAKA, July 8, 2026 (BSS) - Pakistan High Commissioner to Bangladesh Imran Haider today paid a courtesy call on Social Welfare and Women and Children Affairs Minister Prof. Dr. AZM Zahid Hossain at the latter's office in the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban.

Women and Children Affairs Secretary Yasmeen Parveen and Pakistan Deputy High Commissioner Mohammad Wasif were present during the meeting.

The two sides discussed matters of mutual interests, including women's education, prevention of child marriage, women's self-employment, agriculture, dairy, poultry, fisheries and bilateral trade and commerce.

During the meeting, the minister said Prime Minister Tarique Rahman is working to fulfill the election pledges made to the people and build a humane and justice-based Bangladesh through collective efforts.

He expressed hope for Pakistan's positive cooperation in facilitating duty-free and barrier-free access for handicrafts and other products made by Bangladeshi women to the Pakistani market.

The minister also urged Pakistan to import Bangladeshi mangoes, jackfruits and pineapples.

High Commissioner Imran Haider said bilateral trade between Bangladesh and Pakistan has increased by 20 percent compared to the previous year and expressed optimism that the volume would continue to grow.

He said that Pakistan offers duty-free access for up to 10,000 tonnes of Bangladeshi exports and urged the Bangladesh government to take advantage of the facility.

The envoy also said Bangladeshi students have recently travelled to Pakistan to pursue higher studies in cyber security, nanotechnology and artificial intelligence (AI).

He added that a delegation of Bangladesh Civil Service additional secretaries and joint secretaries recently visited Pakistan as part of an academic training programme and expressed hope that such cooperation would expand further in the future.

The minister called upon Pakistan to increase the number of scholarships for Bangladeshi students. In response, the Pakistani High Commissioner expressed a positive attitude towards expanding the scholarship opportunities.