Pakistan Link Headlines

Pakistan, Bangladesh agrees joint ventures in various sectors

DHAKA : Liaquat Ali Jatoi, Federal Minister for Industries and Production, called on Prime Minister of Bangladesh Begum Khaleda Zia in Dhaka on Wednesday.

He conveyed the greetings and good wishes of the President and Prime Minister of Pakistan. Begum Zia warmly reciprocated the kind of sentiments of Pakistani leaders.

The Minister conveyed Pakistan's offer of US Dollar Five Million in assistance for the modernization and expansion of sugar mills in Bangladesh. Upon the utilization of that amount, Pakistan would be willing to further extend the facility. Prime Minister Begium Khaleda Zia welcomed the offer. She also recalled with appreciation Pakistan's decision last year granting duty free access to Bangladeshi jute and tea.

The Minister renewed the invitation of President General Pervez Musharraf to Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia to visit Pakistan. Prime Minister Jamali also looked forward to her visit. Prime Minister said she would be happy to visit Pakistan at mutually convenient dates.

The Minister briefed the PM on the political process in Pakistan, which had been completed with the recent elections to the Senate. The new Government of Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali had set about the task of development and maintenance of political order in the country. Pakistan's economy was in a good shape. This was attested by economic indicators including foreign exchange reserves, which had exceeded 10 billion dollars, a growth rate of around 6 % and a general improvement in productivity.

The Minister Mr. Liaquat Ali Jatoi had an hour-long exchange of views with his Bangladeshi counterpart Mr.M.K. Anwar this morning. Both sides underscored the need for further enhancing cooperation in the industrial and commercial fields. They explored and identified the areas where good prospects existed for mutually beneficial cooperation.

The two Ministers agreed that joint ventures in textiles, fertilizers and paper industries should be encouraged. Detailed discussions were held on collaboration in the sugar industry. The Pakistan Minister for Industries and Production offered a soft loan amounting to US$5 million to the Government of Bangladesh for the modernization and expansion of some of the existing sugar mills in Bangladesh. This assistance, Jatoi said was a goodwill gesture from the Prime Minister of Pakistan Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali for the people and government of Bangladesh.

The Bangladesh Minister for Industries termed the two way relations between Pakistan and Bangladesh excellent and billed the visit of President General Pervez Musharraf to Bangladesh as groundbreaking and historic. He praised the statesmanlike qualities of the President who had created a groundswell of goodwill for Pakistan during his visit. The Minister was of the opinion that the existing friendly relations between the two countries should continue to flourish. Both sides agreed that high level exchanges between the two

countries were necessary for further bolstering bilateral ties.

Later, in his call on the Bangladeshi Foreign Minister M. Morshed Khan, Pakistan's Minister for Industries and Production underlined the need for dialogue among the countries of the region for resolution of their outstanding problems. He referred to the Kashmir dispute as the core issue which lay at the heart of the insecurity and instability in South Asia. He called for cessation of atrocities in Indian Occupied Kashmir and resumption of dialogue between Pakistan and India. "This was necessary both at the bilateral and multilateral levels so that the SAARC process could be revived at the earliest", Mr. Jatoi added.

The Bangladeshi Foreign Minister also underscored the urgency for peaceful resolution of problems and the early convening of the SAARC summit in Islamabad. Both sides called for a peaceful resolution of the Iraq problem and for allowing the United Nations Security Council to playing its due role.

During the meeting the Foreign Minister was joined by the Commerce Minister of Bangladesh Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury, who assured the Pakistan Minister that the Government of Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia and he himself were totally committed to intensifying the economic and commercial ties between the two brotherly countries. This was necessary to supplement the excellent political relations existing between the two countries.

The Bangladesh Foreign Minister extended an invitation to the Foreign Minister of Pakistan Mian Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri to visit Bangladesh. The Minister is being briefed by the Chairman of Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority (BEPZA) Brig. Gen.(Retd) Mafizur Rahman about the functioning of EPZs today. Later he will visit some Industrial Units in Dhaka EPZ. Mr. Jatoi is also going to attend a lunch hosted by BEPZA. The minister for Industries of Bangladesh M.K. Anwar is hosting a dinner for the visiting Minister today.


	Pakistan, Bangladesh agrees joint ventures in various sectors DHAKA : Liaquat Ali Jatoi, Federal Minister for Industries and Production, called on Prime Minister of Bangladesh Begum Khaleda Zia in Dhaka on Wednesday. He conveyed the greetings and good wishes of the President and Prime Minister of Pakistan. Begum Zia warmly reciprocated the kind of sentiments of Pakistani leaders. The Minister conveyed Pakistan's offer of US Dollar Five Million in assistance for the modernization and expansion of sugar mills in Bangladesh. Upon the utilization of that amount, Pakistan would be willing to further extend the facility. Prime Minister Begium Khaleda Zia welcomed the offer. She also recalled with appreciation Pakistan's decision last year granting duty free access to Bangladeshi jute and tea. The Minister renewed the invitation of President General Pervez Musharraf to Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia to visit Pakistan. Prime Minister Jamali also looked forward to her visit. Prime Minister said she would be happy to visit Pakistan at mutually convenient dates. The Minister briefed the PM on the political process in Pakistan, which had been completed with the recent elections to the Senate. The new Government of Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali had set about the task of development and maintenance of political order in the country. Pakistan's economy was in a good shape. This was attested by economic indicators including foreign exchange reserves, which had exceeded 10 billion dollars, a growth rate of around 6 % and a general improvement in productivity. The Minister Mr. Liaquat Ali Jatoi had an hour-long exchange of views with his Bangladeshi counterpart Mr.M.K. Anwar this morning. Both sides underscored the need for further enhancing cooperation in the industrial and commercial fields. They explored and identified the areas where good prospects existed for mutually beneficial cooperation. The two Ministers agreed that joint ventures in textiles, fertilizers and paper industries should be encouraged. Detailed discussions were held on collaboration in the sugar industry. The Pakistan Minister for Industries and Production offered a soft loan amounting to US$5 million to the Government of Bangladesh for the modernization and expansion of some of the existing sugar mills in Bangladesh. This assistance, Jatoi said was a goodwill gesture from the Prime Minister of Pakistan Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali for the people and government of Bangladesh. The Bangladesh Minister for Industries termed the two way relations between Pakistan and Bangladesh excellent and billed the visit of President General Pervez Musharraf to Bangladesh as groundbreaking and historic. He praised the statesmanlike qualities of the President who had created a groundswell of goodwill for Pakistan during his visit. The Minister was of the opinion that the existing friendly relations between the two countries should continue to flourish. Both sides agreed that high level exchanges between the two countries were necessary for further bolstering bilateral ties. Later, in his call on the Bangladeshi Foreign Minister M. Morshed Khan, Pakistan's Minister for Industries and Production underlined the need for dialogue among the countries of the region for resolution of their outstanding problems. He referred to the Kashmir dispute as the core issue which lay at the heart of the insecurity and instability in South Asia. He called for cessation of atrocities in Indian Occupied Kashmir and resumption of dialogue between Pakistan and India. "This was necessary both at the bilateral and multilateral levels so that the SAARC process could be revived at the earliest", Mr. Jatoi added. The Bangladeshi Foreign Minister also underscored the urgency for peaceful resolution of problems and the early convening of the SAARC summit in Islamabad. Both sides called for a peaceful resolution of the Iraq problem and for allowing the United Nations Security Council to playing its due role. During the meeting the Foreign Minister was joined by the Commerce Minister of Bangladesh Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury, who assured the Pakistan Minister that the Government of Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia and he himself were totally committed to intensifying the economic and commercial ties between the two brotherly countries. This was necessary to supplement the excellent political relations existing between the two countries. The Bangladesh Foreign Minister extended an invitation to the Foreign Minister of Pakistan Mian Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri to visit Bangladesh. The Minister is being briefed by the Chairman of Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority (BEPZA) Brig. Gen.(Retd) Mafizur Rahman about the functioning of EPZs today. Later he will visit some Industrial Units in Dhaka EPZ. Mr. Jatoi is also going to attend a lunch hosted by BEPZA. The minister for Industries of Bangladesh M.K. Anwar is hosting a dinner for the visiting Minister today.
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