Pakistan and Bangladesh have agreed to revive their long-dormant Joint Economic Commission (JEC), last convened in 2005, as the two countries move to strengthen trade and investment ties.
The development came during a high-level exchange between Pakistan’s Minister for Commerce Jam Kamal Khan and Bangladesh’s Adviser for Commerce Bashir Uddin, in Dhaka on Friday.
The discussions focused on advancing economic cooperation, mutual investments and strengthening bilateral trade ties, read a statement.
During the meeting, it was learnt that the two countries are in the process of establishing a joint working group on trade to enhance the economic ties and foster greater cooperation in trade between the two countries.
Pakistan, Bangladesh hold talks on industrial collaborations
“Both sides agreed to re-activate the Joint Economic Commission (JEC) forum to work out a comprehensive strategy for promoting trade, investment and economic collaborations,” read a statement.
The last meeting of the JEC was held in 2005.
It was also agreed to form a Joint Trade Commission, which would present a roadmap for building on the existing bilateral trade relations, set goals for future commercial ties and define steps to achieve those targets.
The minister and adviser discussed sectors including agricultural modernisation, renewable energy, steel industry, green ship breaking, ship building, dates, minerals, construction aggregates, halal trade, sugar, leather, rice, dehydrated fruits and agro-processing.
It was noted that connectivity and logistics for trade should and improved and economised for cost-cutting.
During the meeting, matters related to the reduction of tariffs and duties and preferential access to certain Bangladeshi products to the Pakistani market also came under discussion.
Both sides underscored that there was a vast untapped potential of bilateral trade and people of our two countries were all set to benefit from those opportunities.
Jam Kamal Khan arrived in Bangladesh on Wednesday to begin a four-day official visit from August 21 to 24, 2025. The visit is aimed at strengthening bilateral trade ties and enhancing economic cooperation between Pakistan and Bangladesh.
During his stay, the commerce minister will hold high-level meetings with his Bangladeshi counterpart, senior government officials, and leading business representatives to explore new avenues of collaboration in trade and investment.
Earlier this month, Jam Kamal and Bangladesh’s High Commissioner to Pakistan, Iqbal Hussain Khan, explored deeper bilateral cooperation in trade, energy, logistics, and industrial linkages.
