Quite appreciably Pakistan was not only inviting and encouraging investment and trade but also boosting, promoting and strengthening existing relations with friendly countries particularly with those nations which are located nearby in the region..
Pakistan was telling all the friendly countries in plain words that it was now looking for trade and investment from them, and not aid and assistance. All foreign visits which Prime Minister Mohammad Shehbaz Sharif has lately been undertaking to friendly countries around the globe, have had this theme.
The PM was now telling the top leaderships of the friendly countries that Pakistan was now taking all possible measures itself and possibly with their cooperation to stabilize its economy, which with the continued blessings of Almighty Allah and concentrated and determined efforts of the leadership, was moving in upward trajectory, and that this tempo has to be maintained possibly with the cooperation of the friendly countries.
In this regard, the PM has recently paid a successful and productive to the brotherly country of Azerbaijan at the invitation of Azeri President Illham Aliyev, and held a one-on-one meeting with him in a free and frank manner during which the two leaders virtually finalized the matters on Baku’s $ 2 billion investment in Pakistan, agreed to expand bilateral trade volume and promote joint production in the mutual interests of both the countries.
The Azeri President quite promptly assured that he would be visiting Pakistan this April to formally finalize $2 billion investment projects, which was a good positive indication from him, while the PM without any hesitation assured the host President that he himself would be overseeing the investment and mutual cooperation after these were finalized, ensuring prompt implementation of these in the right manner as early as possible and start bearing the desired results.
The PM’s visit to Azerbaijan has been quite productive and the visit of the Azeri President to Islamabad next month will certainly go a long way to further promote, strengthen and deepen the mutually beneficial ties between the fast emerging regional partners Pakistan and Azerbaijan. Hopefully, everyone should honestly, dedicatedly and determinedly be working for achieving these desirable goals.
The visiting Pakistani PM and host Azeri President also witnessed the signing of an amendment to the sale and purchase of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) cargoes which related to the Master LNG sale and Purchase Agreement. The two sides also signed an agreement between Azeri and Pakistani concerns for collaboration in the Machike-Thallian -Tanijabba Oil Pipeline project. Pakistan and Azerbaijan also signed multiple accords for cooperation in the energy, education and environment sectors for further boosting the deep-rooted, historic and brotherly ties between the two countries.
While addressing the joint press conference after their mutual deliberations, the PM quite pointedly stated that the two sides had held extensive discussions regarding finalizing the portfolio of Azerbaijan investments worth about $ 2 billion investment in mutually beneficial projects. and that he was looking forward to the upcoming visit to Pakistan of brother President Aliyev, hoping that the Azeri investment in different sectors will bring rich dividends to both countries.
Pakistan and Azerbaijan have always enjoyed strong political ties and the PM’s visit to the brotherly country and deliberations with the Azeri President has surely and certainly given new dimensions to the bilateral relations. The top leadership of both the countries in their fruitful talks in Baku have quite appreciably given a somewhat unparalleled commitment to develop and promote economic economic links with the desired focus on trade and investment. It was also a welcome assurance from the Azeri President that his country’s $ 2 billion will be formalized and formal agreements signed during his upcoming visit to Pakistan next month. The Azeri President’s visit programme was now being mutually discussed and finalized at the appropriate high level of officials concerned in Baku and Islamabad, finalization of mutual agreements and subsequently their speedy implementation will hopefully go a long way in promoting economic relations between the two brotherly countries, and will hopefully be tantamount to opening of more avenues for further promoting and broadening this quite appreciable mutually beneficial cooperative partnership which will be taking concrete shape in the coming years.
Needless to mention here that Pakistan direly needed foreign investment and collaborative ventures with friendly countries for stabilizing the struggling economy and maintaining its upward trajectory, gradually overcoming its host of problems such as inflation, debt and external pressures. The commitment from Azerbaijan leadership during the PM’s visit for investment of $2 billion in mutually beneficial projects, particularly in the energy, defence and trade
was indeed quite a welcome development. As briefly mentioned above, the extension of the LNG framework agreement between the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan and its Pakistani counterpart and also the establishment of a trading relationship duly signalled progress. However, it is desirable that these welcome initiatives should not be allowed to remain confined to the initial paperwork and all possible steps taken for their implementation for realizing the desirable economic results at the earliest possible.
The PM’s visit to Azerbaijan has been quite productive and the visit of the Azeri President to Islamabad next month will certainly go a long way to further promote, strengthen and deepen the mutually beneficial ties between the fast emerging regional partners Pakistan and Azerbaijan. Hopefully, everyone should honestly, dedicatedly and determinedly be working for achieving these desirable goals.
