Pakistan, Azerbaijan agree to enhance ties in trade, energy, defense sectors

By Islamuddin Sajid

ISLAMABAD (AA) - Pakistan and Azerbaijan on Friday agreed to further enhance ties and cooperation in energy, trade, connectivity, defense, and people-to-people linkages.

The agreement came during a meeting between President Asif Ali Zardari and visiting Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in the President's House in Islamabad.

President Aliyev along with his delegation arrived on a two-day visit to Pakistan on Thursday.

"Both countries enjoyed excellent relations and had a great scope of further improving ties in various areas of mutual interest," said President Zardari, according to a statement issued from his office.

Welcoming the president of Azerbaijan, Zardari said that they need more regular engagements between the people and businessmen of Pakistan and Azerbaijan to cement bilateral ties.

He highlighted the importance of Gwadar port, saying that Central Asian countries and Azerbaijan could benefit from it for promoting regional trade, connectivity and tourism, besides bringing shared economic prosperity to the region.

He also welcomed the signing of memoranda of understanding (MoUs) between Islamabad and Baku, adding that the MoUs would give a new impetus to bilateral cooperation in the fields of trade, commerce, tourism, mines and minerals, science and technology, law and justice, and culture.

The current trade volume between Pakistan and Azerbaijan is around $100 million. However, on Thursday, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and President Aliyev discussed a series of joint projects worth $2 billion, aiming to transform bilateral relations into an "economic partnership" between the two allies.

The two countries also inked agreements and MoUs in the fields of trade, commerce, telecommunication, and mineral resources.

Speaking on the occasion, President Ilham Aliyev said that Pakistan and Azerbaijan enjoyed a high frequency of people-to-people exchanges and both the countries needed to promote business-to-business relations for enhancing economic relations.

"Pakistan and Azerbaijan could also explore the possibility of working together in the renewable energy sector," he said.

Later, Zardari also hosted a banquet in honor of President Aliyev and his delegation, which was also attended by Prime Minister Sharif, federal ministers, parliamentarians, diplomats, and journalists, at the President’s House.