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ISLAMABAD: Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik met senior Bangladeshi officials in Dhaka on Wednesday to seek increased cooperation in energy, natural resources and connectivity sectors, Pakistan’s petroleum ministry said. 

Pakistan and Bangladesh have attempted to increase economic, trade and investment cooperation in recent months. The two nations organized the ninth session of the Pakistan-Bangladesh Joint Economic Commission (JEC) in Dhaka this Monday after a hiatus of 20 years. 

Pakistan and Bangladesh were part of the same country until a bloody civil war in 1971 caused the latter to secede and become the independent nation of Bangladesh. After the ouster of former Bangladeshi prime minister Sheikh Hasina last year, who had close ties to India, Islamabad and Dhaka have sought to improve their historically bitter ties. 

Malik met senior Bangladeshi officials, including Mohammad Touhid, the country’s adviser for foreign affairs in Dhaka on Wednesday. 

“Both sides expressed satisfaction over the resumption of institutional mechanism meetings between Pakistan and Bangladesh and agreed to further enhance cooperation in various sectors, including connectivity, energy, and natural resources,” the petroleum ministry said. 

Touhid stressed the importance of restoring direct flights between Pakistan and Bangladesh during the meeting, the ministry said. 

Malik also met Sheikh Bashiruddin, Bangladesh’s adviser for commerce, textiles, civil Aviation and tourism, and Mohammad Fauzul Kabir Khan, adviser for energy and mineral Resources. 

The two sides held discussions to strengthen bilateral trade cooperation and collaboration in the energy sector, the petroleum ministry said. 

“Ali Pervez Malik welcomed the convening of the Joint Economic Commission meeting after twenty years, describing it as the beginning of a new chapter in Pakistan-Bangladesh relations,” the statement said.

NEW DELHI, India: US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he prevented a war between India and Pakistan this year by threatening both nations with 250 percent tariffs, the highest he has mentioned on any country.

“If you look at India and Pakistan ... they were going at it,” Trump said at the Asia-Pacific summit in South Korea. “Seven planes were shot down. They were really starting to go.”

Trump said he called Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Pakistan’s leaders to say that Washington would halt trade and impose the massive tariffs if the fighting that briefly flared up in May continued.

“I said I was going to put 250 percent on each country, which means you’ll never do business ... That’s a nice way of saying we don’t want to do business with you,” Trump said, to applause from the audience, as he referred to trade deals with several Asian countries in a speech.

Trump has previously made similar assertions about warning both countries of a halt in trade during the military strikes — assertions that India has dismissed.

India and Pakistan’s foreign ministries did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Trump’s remarks.

India’s foreign ministry has previously said that Modi confronted Trump during a phone call between the two leaders in June, saying no discussion about US-India trade or US mediation took place during the four-day conflict.

New Delhi says the decision to cease hostilities was taken following a request from Pakistan. Pakistan thanked Trump for playing a mediating role and nominated him for a Nobel Prize for stopping the war.

Trump said both sides initially resisted his call for a ceasefire, but later backed down.

“They both said, ‘No, no, no, you should let us fight.’ After literally two days, they called up and said, ‘We understand’, and they stopped fighting,” he said.

Washington has subsequently imposed punitive tariffs of up to 50 percent on certain Indian goods, including an additional 25 percent levy from August 27 over New Delhi’s continued purchases of Russian oil, even as both sides hold talks on a trade deal.

Trump has lowered Pakistan tariffs to 19 percent from an initial 29 percent.