Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday held a bilateral meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev at the Presidential Palace in Baku, according to a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office.
The statement added that Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir was also present in the meeting.
The prime minister arrived in Baku earlier today for a two-day official visit to Azerbaijan at Aliyev’s invitation, where he will attend the country’s Victory Day ceremony.
Victory Day is observed to “commemorate the historic victory in the 44-day-long Karabakh Liberation War against Armenia”, according to the PM’s Office.
PM Shehbaz, accompanied by Information Minister Attaullah Tarar, was received at Heydar Aliyev International Airport by First Deputy Prime Minister of Azerbaijan Yagub Eyyubov, First Deputy Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan Fariz Razayev, Pakistani Ambassador to Azerbaijan Qasim Mohiuddin and diplomatic staff.
The statement read: “The prime minister thanked the President of Azerbaijan for extending [an] invitation to attend the celebration of the victory day of Azerbaijan.”
It added that PM Shehbaz congratulated the Azerbaijani government and people on the occasion and stated that the victory “served as a beacon a hope for oppressed people striving for self-determination, including the people of Indian Illegally Occupied in Jammu and Kashmir [sic] and Palestine”.
“The two leaders reviewed the whole range of bilateral relationships and agreed to further strengthen their multi-layered cooperation in the fields of political, trade and investments, energy, connectivity and defence,” the statement read.
PM Shehbaz extended an invitation to Aliyev to visit Pakistan, which the PM’s office says he “graciously accepted”.
“The prime minister appreciated President Aliyev for signing the historic peace agreement with Armenia earlier this year,” the statement added.
“President Ilham Aliyev thanked Pakistan for its consistent support to Azerbaijan in its just struggle against [the] illegal occupation of the Karabagh region. He also appreciated Pakistan’s role in promoting regional stability in South Asia.”
Earlier today, the Foreign Office (FO) said PM Shehbaz would undertake the visit to participate in events being held in connection with the fifth anniversary of Victory Day, which commemorates Azerbaijan’s triumph in liberating its territories from Armenian occupation.
The statement said that the premier was undertaking the visit at the invitation of Azerbaijan President Aliyev. “During the visit, the prime minister will attend the official Victory Day celebrations and hold a meeting with President Aliyev,” the FO said.
“Discussions will focus on reviewing the entire gamut of bilateral relations and identifying new avenues to further deepen cooperation in diverse sectors, including trade and investment, energy, defence, education, and regional connectivity,” it added.
The FO said that Pakistan and Azerbaijan enjoy “long-standing fraternal relations, rooted in shared faith, history, culture, and mutual trust”.
“The visit by the prime minister will reaffirm Pakistan’s steadfast support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and to further advance the strategic partnership between the two brotherly nations,” the FO concluded.
The premier had visited Azerbaijan earlier this year in May as well while on a four-nation tour. He had met the Azerbaijan president, and the two had renewed their pledge to diversify the strategic partnership through investment in mutually beneficial avenues.
President Aliyev had also called PM Shehbaz in August and expressed his appreciation for Pakistan’s consistent support on the issue of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.