ISLAMABAD - Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday departed here for a two-day official visit to Azerbaijan, at the invitation of President IlhamAliyev.
Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif, Commerce Minister Syed NaveedQamar, Information and Broadcasting Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb, Minister of State for Petroleum DrMusadik Malik, and Special Assistant to the PM Tariq Fatemi are part of the prime minister’s entourage.
During the visit, the prime minister will meet the Azerbaijan president. A ministerial delegation of Azerbaijan will also meet the prime minister to discuss bilateral cooperation in the fields of trade and energy. Prior to his departure, the prime minister wrote on Twitter that his “visit is part of our government’s policy to strengthen bilateral cooperation and build win-win partnerships”. He said other than expediting early finalisation of the Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA), he would hold important talks with the Azerbaijani leadership to open up avenues of cooperation in energy, banking, financial services and IT sectors. “Translating excellent bilateral political ties into a solid relationship of trade and investment remains a fundamental goal for us. Central Asia is central to our energy security policy and we are committed to stepping up the cooperation with CARs (Central Asian Republics) to make Pakistan energy-secure,” the prime minister tweeted.