Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif seeks a plan to raise trade with Baku to $2 billion before the Azerbaijan president’s visit.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday instructed the commerce ministry to draft a comprehensive strategy to elevate Pakistan’s trade volume with Azerbaijan to $2 billion, ahead of an anticipated visit by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to Islamabad next month.
Pakistan and Azerbaijan signed multiple memoranda of understanding (MoU) last month to enhance cooperation in change, energy, tourism, and training during Sharif’s visit to Baku, aimed at strengthening bilateral collaboration.
The visit was part of Pakistan’s broader push for financial diplomacy with relevant Asian republics, offering them access to its southern ports in Karachi and Gwadar.
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“The top minister has directed the Ministry of Commerce to give a comprehensive roadmap for increasing Pakistan-Azerbaijan alternate quantity to $2 billion,” the PM office said in a statement following an assembly chaired by Sharif to study progress on recent MoUs.
The top minister formed a committee, led by Deputy top Minister and foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, to make sure arrangements for agreements inside the strength and infrastructure sectors among the two sides, the statement added.
Sharif informed officers to finalize all important preparations on a priority basis before the Azerbaijani president’s visit.
“Pakistan and Azerbaijan share deep-rooted fraternal ties spanning many years,” he was quoted as announcing. “We are taking priority steps to completely capitalize on the huge trade and investment potential between Pakistan and significant Asian states.”
The top minister additionally directed the appointment of change officers in countries with excessive trade ability for Pakistan, including Azerbaijan.
last yr in July, Azerbaijan introduced a $2 billion funding in Pakistan during Aliyev’s visit to Islamabad. Some months later, in September, Pakistan signed a contract to supply JF-17 Block III fighter jets to Azerbaijan, deepening protection cooperation among the two countries.