ISLAMABAD - Prime Minister Sharif is scheduled to pay a two-day official visit to Azerbaijan from today on the invitation of President Ilham Aliyev.
The members of the federal cabinet representing the priority areas of cooperation with Azerbaijan will be part of the prime minister’s entourage, according to the Foreign Office.
The prime minister will hold wide-ranging talks with President Ilham Aliyev on key areas of cooperation including trade, investment and energy. Regional and global issues of mutual concern and cooperation in multilateral forums will also be discussed. The Pakistan-Azerbaijan relationship is embedded in commonalities of faith, culture and history, and strengthened by mutual trust and convergence of views on regional and global matters. Frequent leadership-level exchanges highlight the bonds of friendship between the two countries and contribute to closer multifaceted cooperation for the mutual benefit of the people of Pakistan and Azerbaijan.Meanwhile, during a meeting with a delegation of Pakistan Muslim League-N leadership from the KP province, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday said that special measures had been included in the fiscal budget 2023-24 for the uplift of merged tribal areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Expressing his resolve to transform Khyber Pakhtunkhwa into cradle of peace, the prime minister regretted that the previous government had altogether neglected the development and progress of the province. During the meeting, the political situation of the country was discussed. They also deliberated over the upcoming general elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. During the meeting, Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Murtaza Javaid Abbasi, PM’s Adviser Engineer Amir Muqam, Senator Pir Sabir Shah, members of the National Assembly captain (retd) Muhammad Safdar, Sajjad Ahmed and former MNAs Shahabuddin, Jamshaid Khan and Aurangzaib Nalotha were present. PM Office Media Wing said in a press release, he said talented youth of the province would be provided laptops and loans on affordable terms, adding the farmers would be given quality seed and timely supply of urea, besides equipping them with the latest technology. He observed that economic issues of the people would be reduced with the provision of trade facility in the border areas.
The delegation appreciated the prime minister for inclusion of steps in the fiscal budget for the development and prosperity of province and its erstwhile tribal areas. Chaired a meeting to review reforms in Pakistan Railways, PM Shehbaz Sharif directed for the upgradation of Main Line (ML-1) of Pakistan Railways on priority basis and said that the government was working on the revival of railways on urgent basis. The prime minister said that ML-1 was the backbone of Pakistan Railways and in the future, Pakistan would provide trade corridor facilities to the regional countries through its railways and sea-ports systems.
The meeting was attended by Minister for Finance Ishaq Dar, Minister for Commerce Syed Naveed Qamar, Minister for Railways Khawaja Saad Rafique and other relevant officials, PM office Media Wing said in a press release.