The New Nation - Internet Edition

UNB, Dhaka

Pakistan Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gillani has said his government is keen on developing close friendship and cooperation with Bangladesh.

Prime Minister Gillani said this when Foreign Adviser Dr Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury called him at the Prime Minister's Secretariat in Islamabad on Wednesday afternoon.

The Prime Minister also stated that the two nations have much in common, and this linkage should be translated into greater cooperation in the fields of trade, education, culture and people-to-people contacts, according to a release received here from Bangladesh Mission in Islamabad on Thursday.

Dr Iftekhar Chowdhury handed over a letter to the Prime Minister conveying the greetings and good wishes of Chief Adviser Dr Fakhruddin Ahmed as well as a warm invitation to visit Bangladesh, which Prime Minister Gillani accepted with thanks. Earlier, the Foreign Adviser held a meeting with Foreign Minister of Pakistan Shah Mahmood Qureshi at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Islamabad.

The two Ministers discussed ways and means to widen and deepen the traditional relations between the two countries, which they saw as both "special and strategic."

They agreed to create more congenial atmosphere for the growth of bilateral trade.

The Foreign Adviser requested for duty-free access of some Bangladeshi products into Pakistani market, such as jute, jute goods and pharmaceuticals.

They discussed the principle of according zero-tariff to each other's export items and agreed that the Joint Economic Commission should meet soon.

It was also agreed that structured Foreign Office consultation should take place at an early date to address all issues of mutual interest and concern.

Foreign Minister Mahmood Shah Qureshi also hosted a luncheon in honour of Dr Iftekhar Chowdhury.

The Foreign Adviser is due to meet President Pervez Musharraf and the Pakistan Peoples Party co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari during his two-day visit to the Pakistani capital.