Pakistan and Bangladesh have resumed high -level diplomatic consultations for the first time in 15 years, as senior officials from both sides met in Dhaka on Thursday to revive bilateral engagement and address regional and international issues of mutual interest.

The Foreign Office’s consultations (FOC) were held in the State Guest House Padma and led by Pakistan’s Foreign Secretary AMNA Baloch and her Bangladeshi counterpart MD Jashim Udin.

The meeting marks the first formal FOC between the two countries since 2010, signalizing renewed efforts to rebuild trust and cooperation.

According to officials, discussions focused on a number of questions including trade, investments, tourism, cultural exchanges and the situation of forced Rohingyas.

Both sides also underwent progress in Visa -Placing and Direct Shipment Services and expressed optimism on future cooperation in regional forums.

Amna Baloch, who took over his role in September 2024, is on a two-day visit to Dhaka. She is expected to meet Bangladesh’s main adviser Muhammad Yunus and foreign adviser Touhid Hossain, and will also participate in an interaction with think tanks and the Pakistani diaspora later in the day.

The consultations are part of Islamabad’s wider strategy to strengthen the tape with Dhaka after a thaw in connections following the end of the Awami League-led government in August 2024.

Since then, Pakistan and Bangladesh have exchanged trade delegations and engaged in several diplomatic meetings on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly and the D-8 summit.

Bangladesh has since facilitated visa restrictions for Pakistani nationals and launched direct shipping connections. Pakistan, in turn, is looking to increase exports and facilitates cultural programs to elaborate on humans-to-people contact.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq DAR is scheduled to visit Dhaka in the last week of April. His visit would be the first of a Pakistani Foreign Minister to Bangladesh since 2012.