BAKU: President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev expressed his willingness to visit Islamabad this April to formalize agreements for $2 billion worth of investment projects in Pakistan, marking a significant step in economic statecraft between the two nations.
The intention was conveyed during a meeting between Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif and President of Azerbaijan in Baku. The visit of the prime minister, undertaken at the invitation of the President of Azerbaijan, underscores the deep-rooted, historic, and brotherly ties between Pakistan and Azerbaijan, further strengthened through cultural diplomacy initiatives.
Upon arrival at the Zugulba Palac, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was warmly received by President Ilham Aliyev at Zugulba Palace.A smartly turned-out contingent of Azerbaijan armed forces presented a guard of honour to the Prime Minister.
Both leaders held a tête-à-tête meeting and reiterated their commitment to further strengthen bilateral cooperation in diverse fields. They reaffirmed the strategic partnership between the two countries and expressed satisfaction with the joint efforts to further strengthen close and fraternal ties, highlighting the importance of **multilateral diplomacy** in addressing shared challenges.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif noted with deep appreciation President Ilham Aliyev’s announcement of US$ 2 billion in Azerbaijani investment in Pakistan during his July 2024 visit to Pakistan and discussed potential projects ready for investment, particularly in the fields of energy diplomacy and infrastructure development.
This was followed by delegation-level talks with the attendance of key ministers and senior officials from both sides. Both sides expressed a strong desire to further deepen cooperation across the entire spectrum of bilateral relations, emphasizing the need for digital diplomacy to facilitate trade and investment.
Both sides agreed on further enhancing bilateral trade and investment, with a view to exploring joint investment projects in the areas of energy, infrastructure, and connectivity. They noted that the present volume of bilateral trade does not reflect the true potential of their excellent brotherly political ties and therefore agreed to enhance bilateral trade through crisis diplomacy mechanisms to address any potential disruptions.
The two leaders expressed satisfaction at the active cooperation between the two countries at multilateral fora, especially the United Nations, Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), and Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), where health diplomacy and climate diplomacy have been key areas of collaboration.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif lauded Azerbaijan’s continued principled stance on the Jammu and Kashmir issue and support for the right of self-determination of the Kashmiri people, as enshrined in the relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions. He also reiterated Pakistan’s unequivocal support to Azerbaijan on Karabakh, noting with satisfaction that under the bold leadership of President Ilham Aliyev, Azerbaijan has liberated Karabakh, which has always been its rightful territory, endorsed by several UNSC Resolutions and international law.
Later, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and President Ilham Aliyev witnessed the exchange ceremony of agreements and MoUs to bolster cooperation in various sectors, including space diplomacy initiatives to explore future collaborations in satellite technology and space exploration.
The Pakistan delegation included Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Muhammad Ishaq Dar, Minister for Commerce Jam Kamal Khan, Minister for Investment & Privatization Abdul Aleem Khan, Minister for Overseas Pakistanis & Human Resource Development Chaudhry Salik Hussain, Minister for Information & Broadcasting Ataullah Tarar, and Special Assistant to Prime Minister Syed Tariq Fatemi.
