BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 15. Pakistan and Azerbaijan have strong relations, but they also still hold great untapped potential in both trade and investment sectors, Pakistan's State Minister for Railways, Head of the Prime Minister's Delivery Unit, Bilal Azhar Kayani told Trend.
"As you know, there are very close relations between Pakistan and Azerbaijan—between our two great nations, our peoples, and, of course, our leaders and governments.
Over the past two to three years, there have been several high-level reciprocal visits between Pakistan and Azerbaijan. The current Prime Minister, Mohammad Shehbaz Sharif, attaches great importance to our relations with Azerbaijan. This is why the prime minister of Pakistan visited Baku in February. A few months later, he looks forward to returning to Azerbaijan to attend the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) summit at the invitation of the President of Azerbaijan," the minister said.
Kayani emphasized that Pakistan is interested in strengthening relations with Azerbaijan in the fields of investment and business.
"We are grateful for the declaration by the President of Azerbaijan to invest $2 billion in Pakistan. Teams from both countries are working continuously to identify and develop sectors for investment. Agreements have been signed regarding cooperation in various areas. Now, the main task is to identify real investment opportunities in these sectors, implement these investments, and strengthen cooperation to create real economic benefits for both countries.
There are great relations between Pakistan and Azerbaijan, but there is still a huge untapped potential in both trade and investment. Both countries are working seriously to untap this potential. I believe that with the current dynamics, we'll achieve this.
As part of our intention to cooperate in various sectors, the development of regional relations is a special priority for us. This will create better trade relations and closer contacts between our peoples. Pakistan welcomes all opportunities and ways to strengthen regional relations and is ready to discuss these matters with our colleagues in the Azerbaijani government," the minister emphasized.
"In addition to our economic ties, there is strong military cooperation between Pakistan and Azerbaijan, which is also very important. As you know, in many foreign policy matters, both countries have supported each other. During the recent crisis with India, Azerbaijan stood by Pakistan. We are grateful for the support shown by the Azerbaijani people and leadership to Pakistan. The support given to Pakistan in the streets of Baku is very valuable to us.
At the same time, we highly appreciate the support Azerbaijan has given to Pakistan on the Kashmir issue through diplomatic platforms, including the ECO contact group. Since the independence of Azerbaijan, Pakistan has always been by its side. We value our friendship and brotherhood highly. We have also supported Azerbaijan on the Karabakh issue. So, this strong military cooperation is, in fact, the result of these great brotherly relations. We wish to further strengthen military cooperation between the two countries," the minister concluded.
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