Bangladesh officials training in Pak as Dhaka drops Mussoorie for Lahore

For many years, the Indian hill station of Mussoorie served as a mid-career training school for Bangladeshi civil servants, a symbol of close and stable ties between the two neighbours. But with relations under stress, agreements expiring and visa hurdles, Dhaka has replaced Mussoorie with Lahore.

Twelve Bangladeshi bureaucrats are undergoing training (May 4-21) at the Lahore-based Civil Services Academy — marking the first such structured programme between Bangladesh and Pakistan that have grown closer — strengthening cooperation in several sectors — since Sheikh Hasina’s ouster as PM.

However, many in Dhaka believe the situation could change, with officials going for training programmes to both India and Pakistan, as Dhaka and New Delhi seek to reset their ties.

Till 2024, Bangladeshi officials travelled to the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration in Mussoorie for training. The arrangement began in 2014 under Hasina govt through an MoU between Bangladesh’s public administration ministry and Delhi-based National Centre for Good Governance, ministry officials said.

They said a second MoU was signed on Feb 9, 2019, and a third in Dhaka on Apr 30, 2024. The last agreement remained valid for a year.

Between 2019 and 2024, NCGG trained 1,019 Bangladeshi civil servants under its capacity building programme (CBP) in field administration, according to the NCGG’s website. But the total number of Bangladeshi officials, including civil servants, trained is around 2,500. Besides Bangladesh, officials from nations such as Maldives, Myanmar, Cambodia, Gambia, Sri Lanka, Tanzania and Kenya have also participated in CBPs

The Bangladesh ministry officials said one additional secretary and 11 joint secretary are undergoing training. Pakistan govt is bearing all expenses of the officers’ training. Bangladesh govt has no financial involvement in this visit. The officers will have to submit a report after returning home after the training, a ministry notification said.