BAKU    -   Pakistan and Azerbaijan on Thurs­day agreed to enhance bilateral co­operation in the fields of energy, trade and aviation to reflect the de­cades-old strong relationship be­tween the two nations.

The bilateral relations were dis­cussed at length at a meeting be­tween Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Azerbaijan President Il­hamAliyev here at Zugulba Palace.

The prime minister, accompanied by a high-level delegation, is on a two-day official visit to Baku at the invitation of President Aliyev.

At a joint press stakeout fol­lowing their bilateral meeting, the two leaders told the media of agreeing to introduce flights of Azerbaijan Airlines between Is­lamabad and Baku, and enhance number of military exercises, be­sides exploring the avenues of co­operation in the areas of energy, investment and education.

Prime Minister Shehbaz, who ear­lier visited the mausoleum of Azerbaijan’s first president Haider Aliyev and the martyrs mon­ument, spoke high of President Ilham Aliyev’s leadership to build the city’s infrastructure and impressive horticulture. Citing the “pleasant sur­prises” of neatness and beauty of Baku, the prime minister requested the Azerbaijan president to lend their experts in horticulture and waste man­agement to Islamabad. He told the media that during the “wonderful” discussion, there was a “total unanimity” of views on various bilateral and multilateral issues as the relationship was built on mutual trust and sincerity of purpose.

The prime minister said the Pakistani flags all across Baku manifested the love between the two peoples. “Though our ties are so strong since ages, these do not reflect their intensity through trade and investment, exchange of visits and other im­portant areas of cooperation,” the prime minister remarked. Emphasising cooperation in the ener­gy sector, he said being an energy-deficient coun­try, Pakistan depended upon costly imported fuels spending $27 billion last year which was becoming unaffordable owing to the challenges of imported inflation and oil price hike due to the Ukraine crisis.

The prime minister said his government was committed to replace the costly imported fuels with solar energy to support industries, exports, commerce and offices. He thanked the Azerbaijan president for abolishing duties on Pakistani rice to facilitate the export of the commodity to the friendly country. He said Pakistan welcomed the Azerbaijan Airlines to start its operations to Islam­abad and invited the country’s aviation minister to Pakistan to work out Baku-Karachi flights with a view to promoting bilateral tourism.

The prime minister thanked Azerbaijan for be­ing a staunch supporter of Kashmiris’ rights and highlighted the Indian acts of terror and atrocities in the occupied Valley, including the violations of United Nations resolutions. He reiterated that Pa­kistan was committed to the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and appreciated the bravery of its forc­es for fighting for the country’s rights.

Highlighting the immense opportunities the Gwadar Port offered, the prime minister said both the countries could cooperate to enhance trade.

He told the media that the Pakistan-Azerbaijan cooperation in defence was not a secret as it was meant for peace of the region, not any aggression.

Extending an invitation to President IlhamAli­yev to visit Pakistan, the prime minister said he also looked forward to the Azerbaijan delegations of economic, aviation and energy ministers to dis­cuss at length the cooperation in petroleum and solar energy sectors. In his remarks, President Il­ham Aliyev welcomed the prime minister and his delegation to Baku and said both countries had agreed to enhance cooperation in the fields of en­ergy, defence and education.

He said Azerbaijan hoped to host more Paki­stani students and Azeri students studying in Pa­kistani universities contributed to strengthen­ing the bilateral relations. He told the media that the two sides had agreed to increase the number of military exercises as military capability was of the utmost importance considering the changing circumstances. He said strong military capacity guaranteed independence and territorial integri­ty as Azerbaijan also liberated its Karabakh region through its military might, not dialogue.

He said Pakistan and Azerbaijan always stood shoulder to shoulder as both the peoples shared the same views on a host of issues. Appreciating the leadership of Prime Minister Shehbaz, the Azerbaijan president congratulated the people of Pakistan for having such a great leader with vi­sion and commitment to the country’s develop­ment. During their meeting, it was decided that Azerbaijan will start sending cargo containers of Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) to Pakistan from next month.