IT seems that a new strategic partnership is gaining momentum between Islamabad and Baku, and the current visit of President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has further strengthened bilateral diplomatic relations and economic ties, which is a good omen for both countries with strategic relations. Moreover, rapidly changing socio-economic, geopolitical and geo-strategic realities and compulsions have prompted both sides to forge mutual bilateral relations. Hopefully, mutual consensus will be further enhanced on the North-South Corridor, greater regional connectivity, socio-economic integration, public-private cooperation, investment, pharmaceuticals, textiles, food and energy security and, of course, military cooperation in the days to come.
During his stay, President Ilham Aliyev held meetings with Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif and many other high officials. According to numerous diplomatic sources, the two sides engaged in wide-ranging discussions on areas of mutual interest to further strengthen bilateral cooperation. Afterwards, several agreements and MoUs were signed during the visit, vividly reflecting the robust cooperation and leadership-level dialogue between the two countries. Pakistan and Azerbaijan agreed to enhance bilateral investment up to US$2 billion in mutually beneficial projects. In a joint press stakeout with President Ilham Aliyev after witnessing the signing of agreements and MoUs, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said, “We have discussed an initial figure of $US2bn of investment in mutually beneficial projects.”
The possibility of further enhancing bilateral trade through joint cooperation and investment was also thoroughly discussed. The current bilateral investment volume of less than $100 million does not reflect the strength of our brotherhood and friendship in joint investment in mutually beneficial areas. PM Shehbaz termed the upcoming climate summit COP29 in Baku as a significant international event for all developing countries, including Pakistan. He hoped that COP29 would address climate change-related issues for developing countries like Pakistan. Diplomatic circles in the capital termed President Aliyev’s support for Pakistan’s just cause on Kashmir as a true sign of brotherhood and political understanding between the two sides. Moreover, Ilham’s labeling of the people-to-people connection as a big asset is a sign of mutual support on every international issue.
Before his visit, the Deputy Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan, Samir Sharifov, arrived in Pakistan and held meetings with various ministers, including the Energy (Power and Petroleum) ministers, and called on Federal Minister for Commerce Jam Kamal Khan. This clearly demonstrated the Government of Pakistan’s dedication to forging robust economic relations with other nations. Undoubtedly, Pakistan attaches great importance to its relationship with Azerbaijan. Both sides should jointly work to advance their cooperation in various sectors, including tourism, transport, energy security and defence, though this requires additional efforts. Moreover, finalizing, operationalizing and channeling the Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) and Bilateral Transit Trade Agreement (BTTA) is crucial to further streamline and systemize bilateral relations between the two countries.
The two countries are taking measures to increase bilateral investment, especially in the energy sector. They will also enhance parliamentary exchanges, strengthen cultural cooperation and promote people-to-people contacts, including between students, academia, businessmen and tourists. Pakistan’s Petroleum Minister Musadik Malik disclosed that Baku was considering investing US$2-3 billion in Pakistan. Aliyev’s current visit is expected to boost economic cooperation between the two countries. His visit follows an inaugural Pakistan-Turkiye-Azerbaijan trilateral summit in Kazakhstan this month, attended by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. It is pertinent to mention that at the SCO summit, Sharif proposed the establishment of tripartite institutional mechanisms in economic and investment areas to further strengthen cooperation among the three nations.
Azerbaijan is particularly interested in investing in the mineral, oil and gas sectors, focusing on oil and gas exploration and expanding investments in the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) sector. It is predicted that President Ilham’s current visit will further boost bilateral ties between the countries, with discussions on increasing textile exports and promoting the IT sector. Simply put, it would be a significant investment push for the Government of Pakistan. In summary, ease of travel between the two countries, institutionalization of easy visa policies, mutual cooperation in civil aviation and business and people-to-people cooperation would bring about greater socio-economic cooperation, banking and finance integration, trans-regional connectivity, energy & food cooperation and, above all, metals and mining and infrastructure development between the two sides.
Pakistan has special historic, cultural, social, political and diplomatic relationships with Azerbaijan, which may not be confined to bilateral diplomatic domains. For centuries, the people of both countries have been visiting, interacting and carrying caravans of human values, ethnic diversity, education, commerce and, above all, mutual respect and trust. Moreover, out of love, respect and compassion, the government has not yet recognized Armenia because of its fascist history, present aggression and past illegal occupation of Karabakh and other regions of Azerbaijan.
There are vast opportunities in diverse fields such as economy, investment, joint ventures, special economic free zones, CPEC, oil and gas energy cooperation, agriculture cooperation (duties on rice have been removed by the Azerbaijani Government, leading to a constant rise in rice exports from Pakistan), infrastructure development, especially in the newly liberated areas of Karabakh, dairy cooperation, hybrid seeds, climate change cooperation, especially after COP29, hydropower energy generation, health, vacancies, science and technology, space sciences, education, tourism, banking and finance, especially Islamic banking, formation of sustainable supply chains, software, ICT, fertilizer, textiles, pharmaceuticals, sugar, surgical plants, SMEs, micro-financing, women empowerment and entrepreneurship, insurance companies and, last but not the least, military cooperation and production between the two brotherly countries.
—The writer is President, Pak-China Corridor of Knowledge, Executive Director, CSAIS, regional expert: China, CPEC & BRI.
(mehmoodulhassankhan@yahoo.com)
