Urooj Niazi 
Bilateral relations between Pakistan and Bangladesh have finally taken a turn for the better with the two nations deciding to restart direct government-to-government trade. The first high profile deal is the importation of 50,000 tonnes of rice from Pakistan into Bangladesh. This is just the beginning of renewed commercial cooperation between the two nations that were once one country before they brutally split in the 1971 war.
In the wake of political shifts in Bangladesh which resulted in the removal of veteran Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in August 2024 ties with India have strained. This provided a window of opportunity for Bangladesh to seek new directions for trade, including reviving its relations with Pakistan. The direct trade route was initially opened in November 2024 when a container vessel left Karachi, Pakistan, and arrived in Chittagong, Bangladesh, the first cargo vessel to travel between the nations in decades.
The food ministry of Bangladesh pointed out the importance of the agreement particularly its competitive price and sourcing prospects with Pakistan emerging as an important rice provider. The deal is crucial to Bangladesh, one of the countries most exposed to climate change, which depends on imports for food security.
Even as private trade restarted earlier, the current agreement marks the first government-to-government contract, marking a possible wider economic cooperation between the two countries. The alliance spells new possibilities for both, promising improved trade in the future.
Description- Bangladesh and Pakistan restart government-to-government trade with the initial shipment of rice after centuries of cold relations ushering in a new economic era.
