“Pakistan wants to strengthen diplomatic relations with Bangladesh. I told her (Rabbani) that you have to apologise publicly first. If you do that, I will advocate this for you. Otherwise, we have a political reason,” Momen told the media in Dhaka after returning from Colombo where he had met Rabbani on Saturday.
Asked about her reply, he said Rabbani had avoided a direct answer and said, “We have some limitations.” Dhaka has also sought the withdrawal of anti-dumping duties to allow Bangladesh export more to Pakistan. Rabbani showed a positive attitude for expanding diplomatic relations with Bangladesh, he added.
The meeting was the first ministerial engagement between the two sides in years. Last year, Pakistan Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari had made a stopover in Chittagong while going to Cambodia.
