Bangladeshis to get Pakistani visa in 24 hours: HC Syed Ahmed Maruf

Pakistan High Commissioner (HC) in Dhaka Syed Ahmed Maruf has said Bangladeshi businesspersons, tourists, students and all can get free Pakistani visas within just 24 hours of submitting their online visa applications.

"Also, direct flights between Bangladesh and Pakistan are expected to resume by August next to further facilitate communication between the people, including businesspersons, of the two friendly countries," he said, BSS reports. 

The Pakistani diplomat said this while interacting with members of the board of directors of Rangpur Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI), importers and exporters at the RCCI auditorium in the city as the chief guest on Wednesday.

Earlier, in his welcome speech, RCCI President Md. Akbar Ali expressed gratitude to Pakistani High Commissioner Syed Ahmed Maruf and his entourage for their arrival in Rangpur city and extended heartfelt congratulations and best wishes.

He said there are huge opportunities to import dates, oranges and other fruits and agricultural products from Pakistan and increase exports to Pakistan in the fields of agricultural products, garments, medicine and leather.

The RCCI President said Pakistan exports ten times more goods to Bangladesh than the amount of goods exported from Bangladesh to Pakistan.

Bangladesh mainly exported raw jute, medicines, hydrogen peroxide, tea and ready-made garments.
 
Cotton is the largest import from Pakistan. In addition, a significant amount of raw materials for cement come from Pakistan.

"Although there has been continuous growth in trade and commerce between Bangladesh and Pakistan in recent years, many potential sectors, including agriculture, textiles, medicines, ICT, are still unexplored," he said.

The businesspersons of both countries can work closely in sectors such as energy, education, technology, human resource development, research and innovation to meet the challenges of the fourth industrial revolution.
 
The RCCI President made a generous appeal to Pakistani industrialists to invest and establish agro-based industries in the Rangpur division to further strengthen trade relations between Bangladesh and Pakistan.
 
Later, exporters, importers and industrialists of Rangpur division informed the Pakistani envoy about the potential sectors of bilateral trade and commerce between the two countries and prevailing challenges to resolve.
 
The Pakistani High Commissioner said there is a good demand for Bangladeshi goods, like jute and jute products, in Pakistan and requested the Bangladesh businesspersons to verify the demand for their products in Pakistan.

He said, "We want Bangladeshi businesspersons to participate in the trade fair to be held in Pakistan in the future and create a market for their products in Pakistan."

The Bangladesh-Pakistan relations are developing upward on the basis of mutual benefit and efforts will continue to strengthen the cooperation in the fields of trade, commerce, education, culture, health and tourism for economic progress of both countries.
 
"We are hopeful that Bangladesh-Pakistan and people-to-people relations will become stronger and we desire to move forward in the present and future in mutual interests of both the nations with a positive outlook," he said.
 
The former and incumbent directors of RCCI, Jamaat-e-Islami Rangpur District Ameer Golam Rabbani and Metropolitan Ameer ATM Azam Khan, other political leaders, businessmen, industrialists and journalists were present.