Visa-free travel for Pakistani-Bangladesh citizens approved during minister's visit
Mir Afroz Zaman
There will be no more obstacles in the mutual travel of people between Pakistan and Bangladesh. Diplomatic and official passport holders will now be able to travel without a visa. The Advisory Council of the interim government has approved the draft of the mutual visa exemption agreement.
This decision was taken at the meeting of the Advisory Council held at the office of the Chief Advisor in Tejgaon in the capital on Thursday.
The meeting was held under the chairmanship of Chief Advisor Professor Muhammad Yunus. Later, the decision of the meeting was announced by the Chief Advisor's Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam at a press conference at the Foreign Service Academy in the capital.
He said that the agreement will be for five years. As a result, those who have diplomatic and official passports will be able to travel to Pakistan without a visa. Similarly, those who are carrying diplomatic and official passports of Pakistan will also be able to travel to Bangladesh without a visa. Shafiqul Alam said that such agreements exist with 31 other countries.
The agreement was approved during Pakistan's Commerce Minister Jam Kamal Khan's visit to Bangladesh. The Pakistani minister arrived in Bangladesh on a four-day visit on Wednesday. He arrived at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in the capital on Wednesday night. He was welcomed at the airport by Sheikh Bashiruddin, Advisor to the Ministry of Commerce of the interim government.
The Pakistani commerce minister will stay in Bangladesh until next Sunday. During this period, four memorandums of understanding (MoUs) are expected to be signed with Pakistan. He will also meet with high-level government representatives and leaders of business organizations. He will also visit Chittagong Port, a pharmaceutical industry and a steel factory as part of the visit.
The announcement further said that this high-level visit is expected to further accelerate the long-standing friendly and economic relations between the two countries. However, the details of which factory the Pakistani minister will visit in Bangladesh are kept secret.
