Pakistan’s Ambassador to Azerbaijan Qasim Mohiuddin has said that the trade level between the two countries is below the potential.
However, the ambassador said in an interview with Report, under the vision of the leadership of our countries, serious efforts are being made to expand relations in various sectors:
“A renewed focus is on diversifying bilateral trade and enhancing the bilateral trade volumes. We have recently implemented the Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) and the Transit Trade Agreement (TTA). The two sides are also discussing cooperation in the energy sector and infrastructure development.”
The diplomat recalled that last week, the two sides held the 8th Joint Ministerial meeting (IGC) and the 4th Bilateral Political Consultations (BPC) in Islamabad. “The two sides discussed measures to align further our national position on foreign policy matters of mutual interest. The two sides also discussed ways to further collaborate in trade and investment, energy, connectivity, defense, health, and people-to-people exchanges, among other areas,” he said.
Qasim Mohiuddin believes there is a greater need for cooperation between the business structures of the two countries: “Therefore, I am trying to encourage closer interactions between the business sectors here. A positive development in this direction is the meeting held between the stock exchanges of the two countries. Today a fundamental pillar of our bilateral ties is the love and respect between the people of our two countries. Azerbaijan is fast becoming one of the leading destinations for Pakistani tourists. Last year, over eighty thousand visited Azerbaijan.”
