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 relations between the two neighbours. But due to strain in relations, expired agreements and visa hurdles, Dhaka has replaced Mussoorie with Lahore.Twelve Bangladeshi bureaucrats are undergoing training (4-21 May) at the Civil Services Academy in Lahore – the first such structured program between Bangladesh and Pakistan to strengthen cooperation in a range of sectors since Sheikh Hasina stepped down as Prime Minister.However, many in Dhaka believe the situation may be changing, with officials visiting both India and Pakistan for training programmes, as Dhaka and New Delhi look to re-establish their ties.Until 2024, Bangladeshi officers traveled to the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration in Mussoorie for training. The arrangement began under the Hasina government in 2014 through a memorandum of understanding between Bangladesh’s Ministry of Public Administration and the Delhi-based National Center for Good Governance, ministry officials said.He said the second MoU was signed on February 9, 2019 and the third on April 30, 2024 in Dhaka. The last agreement was valid for one year.According to NCGG’s website, between 2019 and 2024, NCGG trained 1,019 Bangladeshi civil servants in field administration under its Capacity Building Program (CBP). But the total number of Bangladeshi officials, including trained civil servants, is about 2,500. Apart from Bangladesh, officials from countries like Maldives, Myanmar, Cambodia, Gambia, Sri Lanka, Tanzania and Kenya have also participated in CBP.Bangladesh ministry officials said one additional secretary and 11 joint secretaries are undergoing training. The Government of Pakistan is bearing the entire cost of training of the officers. There is no financial involvement of Bangladesh Government in this journey. A notification from the ministry said the officers will have to submit a report upon returning home after the training.