Bangladesh is likely to offer Pakistan a special economic zone (SEZ) for investments at the upcoming joint economic commission (JEC) meeting, to be held in late October in Dhaka, officials say.
Both countries may go for a deal to produce Halal food and boost its exports to overseas destinations, according to Economic Relations Division (ERD) officials.
They say after two decades, Dhaka is going to hold the ninth JEC meeting with Islamabad on October 27 to discuss bilateral trade and economic cooperation.
Ways to boost bilateral trade and cooperation, especially in textile, agriculture, and halal food sectors, will dominate the talks, they also say.
The eighth JEC meeting between the two South Asian nations was held in September 2005.
After that, the previous Awami League-led government declined to hold the next meeting with Pakistan, although several JEC meets were organised with other neighbours, including India and Nepal.
Relations between the two countries grew cold after the Awami League assumed power in 2009.
However, diplomatic ties began to thaw following the fall of the Awami League government in the face of the student-public uprising last year.
According to the ERD, Pakistan Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation Ahad Khan Cheema will head his country's delegation, while Bangladesh's Finance Adviser Dr Salehuddin Ahmed will lead the host nation at the October 27 meeting.
Special Assistant to Chief Adviser Dr Anisuzzaman, ERD Secretary Shahriar Kader Siddiky, and others will also be in the Bangladesh delegation.
"This is a warm-up meeting between the two nations after some two decades. We hope Dhaka and Islamabad will reach a consensus on boosting their trade, investment, and economic cooperation," says Dr Mizanur Rahman, an additional secretary at the ERD.
Since Bangladesh has better agro-knowledge and Pakistan has more expertise in textile and halal food production, both countries could cooperate to boost their bilateral industries as well as exports, he adds.
Another ERD official says Dhaka is likely to offer Pakistan a special economic zone for investments.
He says Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI) and Pakistan Halal Authority (PHA) are likely to sign a deal at the meeting to boost the country's halal food production and exports.
According to official statistics, Islamabad is about 10 times ahead of Dhaka in terms of bilateral trade.
Bangladesh imported goods worth $787 million from Pakistan in FY25, while exports stood at only $80 million.
The ERD official says reducing trade imbalance will be another key agenda of the JEC meeting.
"Bangladesh will request Pakistan to allow greater duty- and quota-free access for products such as jute, pharmaceuticals, ready-made garment, electronics, and tea," he says.
Over the last 14 months since former prime minister Sheikh Hasina's fall, four Pakistani ministers visited Dhaka, signalling warmer relations between the two nations.
In April last, Pakistan's Foreign Secretary Amna Baloch attended the foreign secretary-level talks in Dhaka.
Then in August this year, Pakistani Commerce Minister Jam Kamal Khan and Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, who is also the foreign minister, visited Dhaka within two days of each other for bilateral discussions.