In a significant move to strengthen bilateral relations, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and Prime Minister of Pakistan Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif announced plans for an initial $2 billion investment in mutually beneficial projects. The announcement came during President Aliyev’s visit to Islamabad, where both leaders emphasized the importance of enhancing trade and cooperation between their nations.
Prime Minister Sharif highlighted the productive discussions held with President Aliyev, revealing that the initial figure of $2 billion in investments was a focal point. “For that, we had an initial discussion today, and tomorrow, a formal discussion will take place with the teams of the two countries,” Sharif stated. He expressed optimism that these talks would pave the way for formal agreements by November, during his planned visit to Azerbaijan. “By then, hopefully, both sides will be ready to ink agreements worth $2 billion to start with, and inshallah there is great potential on both sides to really enhance these figures to billions of dollars in years to come,” he added.
President Aliyev echoed this sentiment, noting that both countries’ cabinets had already begun coordinating on the prospective investments. “We gave all the necessary instructions to members of our Cabinet of Ministers. They are already in contact,” Aliyev said. He outlined key areas of collaboration, including energy, infrastructure, connectivity, and the defense industry. Aliyev praised the robust political partnership between Azerbaijan and Pakistan and expressed confidence that the economic ties would similarly flourish. “We will build a strong partnership not only on a political level, which we already have, but also on an economic level – trade, investments,” Aliyev emphasized.
The Azerbaijani President also pointed to the extensive preparations behind the signed documents, particularly highlighting the preferential trade agreement covering nine initial categories, which marks just the beginning of enhanced economic engagement. “Look how many documents today have been signed, and we witnessed the exchange of those documents. It took a lot of time just to exchange, so you can imagine how much time it took to prepare these documents,” he remarked.
The announcements underscore a strategic commitment to deepening Azerbaijan-Pakistan relations, promising significant economic benefits and strengthened ties across various sectors.
