President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has met with Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan Shahbaz Sharif in Samarkand.
During the meeting, President Ilham Aliyev hailed the development of bilateral relations and pointed out that Azerbaijan and Pakistan always stood by each other. The head of state said that Pakistan's support for Azerbaijan during the 44-day Patriotic War was highly appreciated. President Ilham Aliyev emphasized that Pakistan was one of the three countries that did not establish diplomatic relations with Armenia during the 30-year occupation of Azerbaijani territories, which the Azerbaijani people highly appreciated. The head of state pointed out that the two countries cooperated closely within the international organizations, including the Non-Aligned Movement and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. President Ilham Aliyev noted that he highly appreciated Pakistan's support for Azerbaijan's initiatives as chair of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.
The President of Azerbaijan emphasized that Azerbaijan, Pakistan and Turkiye were cooperating closely in a trilateral format.
Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif expressed his satisfaction with the meeting and conveyed President Arif Alvi's greetings to the head of state.
President Ilham Aliyev expressed his gratitude for the greetings of President Arif Alvi and asked the Prime Minister to convey his greetings to the President of Pakistan.
The Prime Minister of Pakistan expressed his condolences to President Ilham Aliyev and the people of Azerbaijan over the latest martyrs. They were killed while preventing large-scale military provocations committed by the armed forces of Armenia on the state border. Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif expressed his high appreciation for the moral, material and friendly support provided by President Ilham Aliyev during the floods that occurred in Pakistan and resulted in numerous casualties. “Pakistan and Azerbaijan are two hearts in one body. There are fraternal and friendly relations between Azerbaijan and Pakistan. We have firmly supported the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and will continue to support it,” the Prime Minister of Pakistan said.
Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif invited President Ilham Aliyev to pay an official visit to Pakistan.
President Ilham Aliyev accepted the invitation with pleasure and invited the Prime Minister of Pakistan to visit Azerbaijan as well.
The head of state emphasized that Azerbaijan also supported Pakistan's rightful position on the issue of Jammu and Kashmir and stood in solidarity with Pakistan on this issue. Azerbaijan is a member of the Contact Group on the issue of Jammu and Kashmir within the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.
During the meeting, the sides discussed the issues relating to transport, logistics, agriculture, energy, investment promotion, and expansion of economic and trade relations between the two countries. Tasks were given to relevant state institutions in the end.
