BAKU WNAM REPORT: Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, who is on an official visit to Azerbaijan, called on President Ilham Aliyev.
The visit, undertaken at the invitation of the President of Azerbaijan, underscores the deep-rooted, historic and brotherly ties between Pakistan and Azerbaijan.
Upon arrival at the Zuğulba Palace, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was warmly received by President Ilham Aliyev. A smartly turned out contingent of Azerbaijan armed forces presented a guard of honour to the Prime Minister.
Both the leaders had tête-à-tête meeting and reiterated the commitment to further strengthen the bilateral cooperation in diverse fields. Both leaders reaffirmed the strategic partnership between the two countries and expressed satisfaction on the joint efforts to further strengthen the close and fraternal ties.
This was followed by delegation level talks with the attendance of key ministers and senior officials of the two sides. Both sides expressed a strong desire to further deepen cooperation across the entire spectrum of bilateral relations.
Both sides expressed their agreement on further enhancing bilateral trade and investment with a view to explore joint investment projects in the areas of energy, infrastructure and connectivity. They noted that the present volume of bilateral trade is not commensurate with the true potential of excellent brotherly political ties and therefore they agreed to enhance bilateral trade.
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).
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif noted with deep appreciation President Ilham Aliyev’s announcement of US$ 2 billion Azerbaijan’s investment in Pakistan during his July 2024 visit to Pakistan and discussed potential projects that are ready for investment. President Ilham Aliyev expressed his willingness to visit Pakistan in April to formalize these agreements.
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.
The Prime Minister reiterated Pakistan’s unequivocal support to Azerbaijan on Karabakh and noted with satisfaction that under the bold leadership of President Ilham Aliyev, Azerbaijan has liberated Karabakh, which has always been the rightful territory of Azerbaijan and endorsed by several UNSC Resolutions and international law.
Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif and President Ilham Aliyev witnessed the exchange ceremony of agreements and MoUs to bolster cooperation in various sectors.
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.
