A Chinese container ship has become the first to travel directly between Pakistan and Bangladesh for decades, according to port officials.
The AFP news agency reported that the trip by the 2,070-teu Yuan Xiang Fa Zhan (built 2024) is part of a rebuilding of ties after more than 50 years of frosty relations between the countries.
The Panama-flagged vessel, operated by Anhui Guohai Sanlong Shipping of China, unloaded boxes on 11 November at Chittagong in Bangladesh.
The 182-metre ship had sailed from Karachi in Pakistan.
The nations were once one country but split in 1971 following a war. Bangladesh has maintained closer ties to India since then.
The voyage was confirmed by Chittagong port official Omar Faruq to AFP.
Pakistan’s envoy to Bangladesh, Syed Ahmed Maroof, said after the docking that the direct shipping route was “a major step” in boosting trade across the region.
Maroof added on Facebook that the service will “promote new opportunities for businesses on both sides.”
Chittagong port authorities said the Chinese vessel had imported Pakistani goods, as well as cargo from the United Arab Emirates, including food and raw materials for the key Bangladeshi industry of clothes manufacturing.
Bangladesh eased import restrictions on Pakistani goods in September.
Imports were previously required to undertake a physical inspection when the goods arrived, causing long delays.
Containers from Pakistan were offloaded on to smaller feeder vessels, typically in Sri Lanka, Malaysia or Singapore, before onward shipping to Bangladesh.
