Bangladesh has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Pakistan to import atap (parboiled) rice.

The MoU was signed by Sayed Rafeo Bashir Shah, Chairman of the Trading Corporation of Pakistan, and Md Abdul Khaleque, Director General of the Directorate General of Food.

According to a press release by the Ministry of Food, the agreement was signed today at the Ministry of Food in Dhaka, with representatives from both countries in attendance.

"An MoU was signed in the conference room of the Ministry of Food between the Trading Corporation of Pakistan and the Directorate General of Food for the import of atap rice on a government-to-government (G2G) basis," reads the release.

"This MoU is expected to open a new horizon in stabilising the domestic rice market while strengthening economic and trade relations between the two countries."

Present at the signing ceremony were Food Secretary Md Masudul Hasan, Pakistan's High Commissioner to Bangladesh Syed Ahmed Maroof, and other senior officials from both sides.