Pak PM Shehbaz Sharif leaves for Azerbaijan

Islamabad, The Gulf Observer: Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday departed for a two-day official visit to Azerbaijan.

Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif, Commerce Minister Syed Naveed Qamar, Information and Broadcasting Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb, Minister of State for Petroleum Dr Musadik Malik, and Special Assistant to the PM Tariq Fatemi are also accompanying.

Will hold talks with Azerbaijani leadership to open up avenues of cooperation in energy, banking, financial services and IT sectors

The prime minister will hold a meeting with Azerbaijan President. A ministerial delegation of Azerbaijan will also meet the Prime Minister to discuss bilateral cooperation in trade and energy fields.

Prior to his departure, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said 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.