Baku, Islamabad discuss regional, int'l co-op
By Vugar Khalilov
Baku and Islamabad have discussed cooperation in bilateral and multilateral platforms, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry reported on January 26.
Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov and his Pakistani counterpart Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi praised the high level of development of bilateral ties in a variety of areas during a phone call. They emphasized that cooperation is carried out successfully on both the bilateral and multilateral levels.
"Referring to the December meeting of the Azerbaijan-Pakistan Intergovernmental Joint Cooperation Commission in Baku, the sides stressed the importance of expanding cooperation in all areas," the ministry said.
The ministers expressed satisfaction with the intensity of interactions between the two countries over the past year, both at the level of foreign ministries and other government agencies.
The parties also talked about the 30th anniversary of the two countries' diplomatic relations, which will be celebrated in 2022.
Furthermore, the ministers discussed the outcomes of the extraordinary meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation's Council of Foreign Ministers, which was held in Islamabad on December 19, last year, and was dedicated to the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan.
The Pakistani foreign minister invited his Azerbaijani counterpart to the 48th meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to be held in Islamabad.
The parties also discussed other regional and international issues of mutual interest.
The parliaments of Azerbaijan, Turkey, and Pakistan have all signed the Baku Declaration on Cooperation. The document was signed on July 27, 2021, following a trilateral meeting of the speakers of the three countries' parliaments.
In 2020, the trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Pakistan was $13.2 million, with $1.6 million in exports and $11.6 million in imports. The two countries' trade turnover was $3.1 million in the first quarter of 2021.
Pakistan was one of the first countries to express political support for Azerbaijan during the 44-day war with Armenia in 2020.
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