Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday congratulated Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus on taking oath as the chief adviser of the Bangladesh government, adding he hoped to work together to deepen the cooperation between the two states.
Following the ouster of Hasina Wajed as Prime Minister of Bangladesh over student-led protests, the protest leaders demanded Yunus head the new interim government. He returned to Dhaka earlier this week and took oath of office, vowing to steer the country back on the path to prosperity for all.
“Heartiest felicitations to Professor Muhammad Yunus on his swearing-in as Chief Adviser of the Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh,” wrote the prime minister in a post on X, formerly Twitter. “Wishing him great success in guiding Bangladesh towards a harmonious and prosperous future. I look forward to working with him to deepen cooperation between Pakistan and Bangladesh in the days ahead,” he added.
Following Bangladesh’s partition from Pakistan in 1971, the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1975. Today, Bangladesh is Pakistan’s largest trading partner in South Asia, with the volume of their trade ranging between $800-900 million annually.