Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday held a wide-ranging meeting with President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev here at the Presidential Palace flanked by Chief of the Army Staff, Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir.
He thanked President Aliyev for inviting him to attend Azerbaijan’s Victory Day celebrations, which commemorate the country’s historic triumph in the 44-day Karabakh Liberation War against Armenia, a Prime Minister’s Office news release said.
Extending warm felicitations to the government and people of Azerbaijan, the Prime Minister said the nation’s victory stood as a “beacon of hope for all oppressed peoples striving for self-determination,” including those in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir and Palestine.
The two leaders discussed the full spectrum of bilateral ties and agreed to enhance multi-dimensional cooperation between Pakistan and Azerbaijan in the areas of politics, trade and investment, energy, connectivity, and defence. PM Shehbaz also invited President Ilham Aliyev to visit Pakistan at his earliest convenience, a gesture graciously accepted by the Azerbaijani leader.
Acknowledging the progress made in the South Caucasus, the prime minister lauded President Aliyev’s leadership and his signing of the landmark peace agreement with Armenia earlier this year.
President Ilham Aliyev, in turn, thanked Pakistan for its unwavering support during Azerbaijan’s just struggle to liberate the Karabakh region. He also commended Pakistan’s constructive role in fostering regional peace and stability in South Asia.
The prime minister was received at the Heydar Aliyev International Airport in Baku by First Deputy Prime Minister Yagub Eyyubov, First Deputy Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan, Fariz Razayev, Ambassador of Pakistan to Azerbaijan Qasim Mohiuddin, and diplomatic staff.