ASTANA
\nPakistan and Azerbaijan on Wednesday agreed to hold fast-track discussions on energy collaboration between the two countries through robust engagement.
\nThe bilateral relations were discussed in a meeting between Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev in which the two sides renewed their commitment to intensify and deepen bilateral engagement in diverse areas of mutually beneficial cooperation.
\nThe meeting took place on the sidelines of the Sixth Summit of Conference for Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) being held here.
\nBoth leaders reviewed the progress of various ongoing initiatives for promoting connectivity, trade and investment.
\nDuring the meeting, the prime minister underlined the need for fostering close cooperation between the two countries in the field of energy, which was a high-priority area for his government.
\nShehbaz Sharif told the Azeri president that he had nominated the Minister of State for Petroleum as the focal point for bilateral energy cooperation between Azerbaijan and Pakistan who visited Baku last month.
\nHe also proposed leadership-level consultations in Islamabad aimed at advancing Regional Connectivity which was received positively.
\nBoth leaders reviewed the close and cordial bilateral ties, with a view to further enhance cooperation in the areas of trade, investment, education, information technology, security, agriculture, connectivity and energy. Pakistan, Azerbaijan agree to hold fast-track discussions on energy collaboration
\nThe prime minister also briefed President Aliyev on his government\u2019s efforts to rehabilitate the millions of flood-affected people in Pakistan and restore their livelihoods damaged by the unprecedented climate change-induced natural disaster.
\nHe underscored that damage to standing crops and the inability to cultivate in the coming sowing season had exacerbated the threat of food shortage in the country.
\nHe said the import of urea was essential to avert this danger and revive the agricultural produce in the country. President Aliyev assured him of Azerbaijan\u2019s full support in this context.
\nThe two leaders also discussed regional and global issues of common interest.
\nPrime Minister Shehbaz appreciated Azerbaijan\u2019s steadfast position on Jammu and Kashmir and its valuable role as a member of the OIC Contact Group on Jammu and Kashmir.
\nHe reaffirmed Pakistan\u2019s principled support to Azerbaijan on former Nagorno-Karabagh and appreciated President Ilham Aliyev\u2019s endeavors for bringing long-term and sustainable peace in the South Caucasus.
\nThis was the second interaction between the two leaders as earlier they met on the sidelines of SCO in September 2022 at Samarkand, Uzbekistan and afforded a productive opportunity for catalyzing multifaceted bilateral economic engagement in keeping with the great tradition of amity and cooperation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ASTANA Pakistan and Azerbaijan on Wednesday agreed to hold fast-track discussions on energy collaboration between the two countries through robust engagement. The bilateral relations were discussed in a meeting between Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev in which the two sides renewed their commitment to intensify and deepen bilateral engagement […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":288858,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-288834","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-top-news"},"yoast_head":"\n