Bangladesh and Pakistan have resumed direct government-to-government trade after decades of strained relations, beginning with the import of 50,000 tonnes of rice, Dhaka announced on Tuesday.

The two nations were once united but separated after a violent war in 1971, with Bangladesh aligning itself closely with India.

However, Bangladesh’s long-serving prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, was removed from power in an August 2024 revolution. She fled to India by helicopter and has refused extradition to face charges of crimes against humanity.

Since then, relations between India and Bangladesh’s new government have been tense, creating an opportunity for Islamabad and Dhaka to rebuild their ties gradually. Private trade between Bangladesh and Pakistan resumed in November 2024 when a container ship travelled from Karachi to Chittagong. This marked the first direct cargo shipment between the two countries in decades.

Ziauddin Ahmed, a senior official at Bangladesh’s food ministry, announced on Tuesday, "For the first time, we are importing 50,000 tons of rice from Pakistan, and it is the first government-to-government deal between the two countries.”

In January, Bangladesh’s Directorate General of Food signed a memorandum of understanding with Pakistan’s state-owned Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) to facilitate rice imports. Ahmed highlighted that trade with Pakistan presents a "new avenue of sourcing and competitive pricing," as Bangladesh has traditionally imported rice from India, Thailand, and Vietnam in recent years.

Imports play a crucial role in Bangladesh, a low-lying country highly vulnerable to climate change. Much of its land consists of deltas formed by the Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers as they flow toward the sea.

With a population of 170 million, Bangladesh faces significant risks from severe floods and cyclones, which are expected to become more frequent and intense because of global warming.

For years, private companies in Bangladesh have been importing rice from Pakistan. However, before reaching Bangladesh, Pakistani goods had to be transferred onto feeder vessels, typically in Sri Lanka, Malaysia, or Singapore.

India and Pakistan, which were partitioned at the end of British colonial rule in 1947, have fought multiple wars and remained bitter enemies.