On Wednesday, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met with Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev to discuss boosting bilateral cooperation and collaboration.
The gathering occurred in Astana, Kazakhstan, on the margins of the 6th Summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA).
Both parties reaffirmed their dedication to expanding and deepening their bilateral cooperation in a wide range of fields. In their discussion, the two heads of state assessed the development of current measures designed to increase communication, commerce, and investment.
The discussion focused on the prime minister stressing his government’s objective of strengthening ties between the two nations, particularly in the energy sector.
While in Baku last month, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif informed his Azerbaijani counterpart that he had appointed Pakistan’s Minister of State for Petroleum to serve as the country’s lead person for energy talks between Baku and Islamabad.
He suggested holding high-level talks in Islamabad to improve communication amongst countries in the area. To further strengthen cooperation in commerce, investment, education, information technology, security, agriculture, connectivity, and energy, the two presidents recapped their countries’ already robust and friendly bilateral ties.
The prime minister updated President Aliyev on Pakistan’s efforts to help those impacted by the severe floods there.
He stressed that the imminent danger of food shortages in the country was exacerbated by the damage to crops and the inability to cultivate in the approaching planting season. In order to stop this impending disaster and revitalize agricultural output, he argued urea imports were necessary. He has the entire backing of Azerbaijan, as President Aliyev has informed him.
First Minister Shehbaz praised Azerbaijan for its consistent stance on the Jammu and Kashmir issue and its helpful participation in the Organization of Islamic Cooperation Contact Group on the issue.
He praised President Ilham Aliyev’s efforts to bring lasting peace to the South Caucasus and reaffirmed Pakistan’s unwavering support for Azerbaijan on the issue of Nagorno-Karabagh.
Since the two presidents had already met in September 2022 in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, on the periphery of the SCO summit, this was their second encounter.
An earlier team led by cabinet ministers and high-ranking officials had arrived in Astana for the prime minister’s two-day visit. On October 13, he will speak at CICA’s plenary meeting, where he will discuss the importance of CICA as a platform for Asian nations to learn more about one another and work together to solve regional problems.