President urges stronger trade, education ties with Pakistan

President Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Sunday called for stronger cooperation with Pakistan in trade, commerce and investment, air connectivity, education and training.
He made the call during a courtesy meeting with Pakistan High Commissioner Imran Haider at Bangabhaban. During the meeting, the high commissioner reiterated an invitation from Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari for Mirza Fakhrul to visit Pakistan. The President thanked him and invited Zardari to visit Bangladesh at a convenient time.
Mirza Fakhrul described Pakistan as an important partner and said expanding bilateral trade and economic ties would benefit both countries. He stressed greater contact between businesspeople and entrepreneurs to explore new trade opportunities. He said Pakistani ready-made garments, particularly women’s clothing, are popular in Bangladesh and suggested exploring imports of Pakistani garments, cotton yarn and other products while making bilateral trade more balanced.
Imran Haider said a trade fair featuring Pakistani products would be held in Dhaka in October and proposed holding a similar fair in Pakistan showcasing Bangladeshi products. 
He also said Pakistani entrepreneurs were interested in joint ventures to produce sports equipment, including footballs.
Referring to the resumption of direct Dhaka-Karachi flights this year, he said the link was helping boost trade, medical tourism and people-to-people contacts, and called for more flights. The high commissioner also urged Bangladesh to increase tea exports to Pakistan, citing duty-free facilities. The President said Bangladesh could also export more ceramics, betel leaf, agricultural products and pharmaceuticals to Pakistan.
Mirza Fakhrul stressed expanding training exchanges between the countries’ armed forces and civil administrations, as well as higher education in science, engineering, technology and medicine. He assured the high commissioner of full cooperation and expressed hope that bilateral ties would become more fruitful and multidimensional through greater cooperation and people-to-people contacts.
Senior officials were present at the meeting.