Pakistan, Azerbaijan discuss $2B trade, investment projects

By Aamir Latif

KARACHI, Pakistan (AA) – Pakistan and Azerbaijan on Thursday discussed a series of joint projects worth $2 billion, aiming to transform bilateral relations into an "economic partnership" between the two allies.

The understanding was announced during a joint news conference by Azerbaijan’s visiting President Ilham Aliyev and Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in the capital Islamabad after holding delegation-level talks.

Sharif said a joint committee has been set up to formulate a strategy to materialize the projects in trade, commerce, information technology, tourism, telecommunication, mineral resources and other sectors.

The current trade volume of $100 million, according to him, does not reflect the “true” trade potential between the two countries.

The two sides, he added, are committed to enhancing the bilateral trade volume by “millions of dollars” in years to come.

Aliyev, who landed in Islamabad on a two-day official visit earlier in the day, said the two countries have agreed to transform the bilateral relations into “economic partnership.”

- Kashmir and Karabakh

Aliyev said that Pakistan’s support to Baku during its war against Armenia in Karabakh “gave us more power.”

“Pakistan and Türkiye are the countries who have always supported Azerbaijan on the Karabakh issue. Azerbaijan has a unique relationship with the two countries," he added.

Pakistan, he noted, is the country that did not establish diplomatic relations with Armenia just because of Azerbaijan.

About long-smoldering Kashmir dispute, he said Baku’s support to Pakistan on the issue is “respect to the international law and justice.”

“We stand by the people of Kashmir for justice and international law. And we believe that justice will prevail,” he went on to say.

Sharif, for his part, thanked Baku for its “consistent” support on the Kashmir issue, saying the two allies will continue to support each other on all regional and international forums on Kashmir and Karabakh.

He noted that Azerbaijan, and Türkiye are among the “friendly” countries who have always backed Islamabad on the Kashmir dispute.

Earlier, the two countries inked agreements and memorandums of understanding in the fields of trade, commerce, telecommunication, and mineral resources.