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Pakistani president to mull prospects for economic co-op in Baku

Politics Materials 9 January 2015 20:56 (UTC +04:00)
The development of economic cooperation will be the main topic of the high-level negotiations during the official visit of Pakistani President Mamnoon Hussain to Azerbaijan.
Pakistani president to mull prospects for economic co-op in Baku

Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 9

By Seba Aghayeva - Trend:

The development of economic cooperation will be the main topic of the high-level negotiations during the official visit of Pakistani President Mamnoon Hussain to Azerbaijan, a source told Trend on Jan.9.

The source said the visit is scheduled for March. Currently, preparations for the high-level visit are underway in the governments of both countries. The package of agreements to be signed during the visit of Pakistani president is being prepared. The agreements will cover several spheres of cooperation between the two countries in the sphere of economy.

The sides intend to increase the level of economic cooperation, said the source.

Azerbaijani ambassador to Pakistan Dashgin Shikarov earlier told Trend that Azerbaijan intends to invest in this country's energy sector. The two countries plan to focus on strengthening the bilateral cooperation in trade and economic sphere, especially in the fields of energy and agriculture.

"Azerbaijan has huge oil and gas reserve, as well as experience in the energy sector," the diplomat said earlier. "Pakistan, for its part, has work experience in the spheres of agriculture and dairy production. Thus, both of the countries could cooperate in these spheres to further strengthen the bilateral relations."

The trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Pakistan stood at $2.7 million in Jan.- Nov. 2014, according to the State Customs Committee of Azerbaijan.

The political relations between the two countries are at the high level. Both counties have always supported each other on the international arena.

Pakistan supports Azerbaijan's position in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and condemns Armenia's aggressive policy.

Pakistan is the first country to adopt the resolution which strongly condemns the genocide committed by Armenian armed forces against the civilians of Khojaly city and urges the international community to force Armenia to fulfill the resolutions of UN Security Council.

Pakistani Senate recognized the events in Azerbaijan's Khojaly city as genocide on Feb.1, 2012.
Pakistan fully supports Azerbaijan's territorial integrity and hasn't recognized Armenia as an independent state because of the occupation of Azerbaijani lands.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

Armenian armed forces, together with the 366th infantry regiment of Soviet troops stationed in Khankendi committed an act of genocide against the population of the Azerbaijani town of Khojaly on February 25-26, 1992.

As a result of the massacre, some 613 people were killed, including 63 children, 106 women and 70 old people. Eight families were totally exterminated, 130 children lost one parent and 25 children lost both. A total of 487 civilians became disabled as a result of the onslaught. Some 1,275 innocent residents were taken hostage, while the fate of 150 people remains unknown.
The two countries signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, Russia, France and the US are currently holding peace negotiations.

Armenia has not yet implemented the UN Security Council's four resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.

Edited by CN

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