Foreign Secretary Hemayetuddin will lead the Bangladesh side at the meeting on August 19-20. It is considered as an important event in the context of the upcoming Saarc summit in Dhaka, resolving bilateral issues and increasing export from Bangladesh.

Hemayetuddin leaves today for Islamabad to attend the foreign office consultation, said foreign ministry sources.

Officials said Bangladesh at the meeting will review the entire range of bilateral issues, particularly trade and economic cooperation. The issue of repatriation of the stranded Pakistanis will also dominate the talks.

The two sides are expected to put special emphasis on increasing people-to-people contact to further strengthen the existing excellent ties.

Dhaka will also push the issue of duty-free access for 102 products to Pakistan at the meeting with the country's Foreign Secretary Riaz Mohammad Khan.

The officials said Pakistan has already given duty-free access for raw jute and tea, while Dhaka is pursuing Islamabad to include ceramics, pharmaceuticals, leather goods and garments, among other products.

Bangladesh currently enjoys duty-free access for 10,000 tonnes of tea to the Pakistani market. Dhaka wants to increase this volume and other exports, as it suffered a $149.44 million trade gap with Pakistan in 2003-04.

Besides, Pakistan's investment might be sought for setting composite textile mills in Bangladesh.