Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday evening received a telephone call from Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, who expressed his appreciation for Pakistan’s consistent support on the issue of Nagorno-Karabakh, a statement from the PM’s office said.

Azerbaijan and Armenia signed an initial US-brokered peace agreement during a meeting with President Donald Trump on Friday, a deal aimed at boosting economic ties between the two countries after decades of conflict, the White House said.

The PM on Saturday hailed US President Donald Trump’s peace efforts following his role in brokering the Armenia-Azerbaijan peace deal, congratulating both countries on “charting a course for a peaceful future for their region” and stating: “Pakistan has always stood by the brotherly nation of Azerbaijan and we stand with them at this proud moment of their history.”

In a post on X, PM Shehbaz said that he had a phone call with Aliyev, where he conveyed warm felicitations to him and the people of Azerbaijan on the peace deal.

“Lauded him for his vision and statesmanship, and deeply appreciated President Donald Trump, who played the role of peace maker in facilitating this landmark agreement,” the prime minister wrote.

During today’s phone call, PM Shehbaz offered his warm felicitations to Aliyev and the people of Azerbaijan on the historic peace agreement and hailed Trump’s role in the peace process.

“During their warm and cordial telephone conversation, the prime minister lauded the visionary role of President Ilham Aliyev in bringing the three-decades-old conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia to a peaceful and mutually beneficial end, especially as it would usher in a new era of prosperity for the Caucasus,” the statement read.

“The prime minister particularly appreciated the role played by US President Donald Trump in facilitating this historic deal that would now bring peace and prosperity to the region.

“President Aliyev expressed deep appreciation for Pakistan’s longstanding and consistent support for Azerbaijan on the Karabakh issue,” the statement added.

“The prime minister responded that it has always been a matter of duty for the people of Pakistan to extend their support to their Azerbaijani brothers and sisters on this core issue and it was heartening to note that, under President Aliyev’s bold leadership and statesmanship, peace had finally been established in this region.”

Aliyev told PM Shehbaz that peaceful development in the region would create new opportunities for enhanced connectivity between Pakistan and Central Asia. The statement said that both leaders also expressed satisfaction with the positive trajectory of their bilateral cooperation.

“While recalling their recent interactions in Lachin and Khankendi, the prime minister reiterated his invitation to President Aliyev to undertake an official visit to Pakistan soon,” the statement added. “Both leaders are also expected to meet in Tianjin on the margins of the upcoming SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organisation) summit.”

Armenia and Azerbaijan had been at odds since the late 1980s when Nagorno-Karabakh — a mountainous Azerbaijani region that had a mostly ethnic Armenian population — broke away from Azerbaijan with support from Armenia.

Baku and Yerevan fought two wars for control of Azerbaijan’s Armenian-populated region of Nagorno Karabakh, at the end of the Soviet Union and again in 2020, before Azerbaijan seized the entire area in a 24-hour offensive in September 2023.