Press statements by Ilham Aliyev, Shehbaz Sharif

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan Mohammad Shehbaz Sharif made statements to the press on June 15.

President Ilham Aliyev statement

Dear Mr. Prime Minister, dear Brother.

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Azerbaijan.

I am very glad that my dear brother is visiting Azerbaijan. Our relations are between two brotherly countries. We have regular contacts with the Prime Minister. We met twice last year within the framework of various international events. I am grateful that Mr. Prime Minister accepted my invitation and came to our country on an official visit.

Relations between our countries are based on shared history, culture, religion, solidarity and mutual support. We are grateful to Pakistan for supporting Azerbaijan during the occupation and strongly supporting us during the 44-day Patriotic War.

Pakistan is a country that does not establish diplomatic relations with Armenia, and this happened precisely because of the occupation. This is the position of a brotherly country, for which I am grateful.

Today, I informed Mr. Prime Minister about the ongoing negotiations on the peace agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia. There are prospects for signing this agreement, Armenia just needs to show political will and put on paper what they have already officially declared that Karabakh is Azerbaijan!

Azerbaijan has always supported Pakistan in the Kashmir issue, and this support will continue. We demonstrate this support and solidarity in all international organizations. Of course, mutual support brings our countries and peoples closer.
The people of Azerbaijan know very well who was with us during the 44-day war. It was Turkey and Pakistan. Both countries showed strong political support during the war.

Today we discussed many issues included in our bilateral agenda, as well as regional processes, regional security issues. We have a very clear vision of where we are going forward. We have agreed that several delegations from Azerbaijan will visit Pakistan. One will deal with the issue of trade and investment, the next delegation will deal with the issue of energy, and the third will consider cooperation in the field of defense industry.

We also agreed to make more serious efforts to increase the volume of our trade. We will sign a memorandum of understanding in this direction and work on a list of products that will serve to increase our trade turnover.

Of course, there are great prospects in the field of energy, whether in the field of conventional energy or renewable energy. At the same time, we agreed that we will increase the number of flights between our cities, especially between the capitals. This will be a good result of our meeting and this trip.

In addition, we see great potential in the field of education. Today, 750 students from Pakistan are studying in Azerbaijan, and if we look at how fast this process is going, we will see that last year only 100 students were studying. That is, we want to see more of our Pakistani brothers here. At the same time, there are Azerbaijanis studying in Pakistan. Today, they are studying in various fields, returning and contributing to our country.

At the same time, we discussed cooperation in the field of defense industry. As I already mentioned, we discussed the issue of increasing the number of joint military exercises, which is necessary. Because the situation in the world is changing, points of instability are increasing, therefore a strong military potential is a guarantor of independence and territorial integrity.

As you know, Azerbaijan participated in negotiations with Armenia for 30 years, and these negotiations did not yield any results. Only our military strength and the determination of the Azerbaijani Army restored our territorial integrity. This did not happen through negotiations or any mediation. On the contrary, those mediation efforts led to the freezing of the situation. We did not agree with that at all. We have restored our territorial integrity, we got our lands through the battle by sacrificing 3 thousand of our children.

We see that international law is applied selectively. Some resolutions of the UN Security Council are implemented, others are not. We both know it well. Therefore, territorial integrity, security and prosperity are, of course, related to your country’s economic and military strength. We have mutual full understanding on all these issues. Pakistan and Azerbaijan have always been countries standing shoulder to shoulder. One of the more important factors is that our people also share the opinion of their leadership and you can see Pakistani flags in different parts of Baku. These are the flags hung during the Second Karabakh War. Although the war ended two and a half years ago, Pakistani flags still fly here. This is the attitude of our people and we see the same attitude from the people of Pakistan.

Mr. Prime Minister, I thank you once again for your visit. I always remember our meetings with you with pleasure and we discuss all issues. At the same time, I want to congratulate the people of Pakistan for bringing to power a person with great experience and political views like you. You are a person who is committed to the development of your country and strives to strengthen its independence. I am sure that under your leadership, Pakistan and the brotherly people of Pakistan will achieve even greater success and achievements.

I wish you and your people prosperity, happiness and peace. Thank you.

Prime Minister Mohammad Shahbaz Sharif statement

Dear Brother, Mr. President Aliyev.

First of all, I want to say that since we arrived in your beautiful country last evening, I have been surprised at every moment in a very good way.

My brother Nawaz Sharif told me at that time when you go to Baku, you will see what a beautiful city it is. The other day we arrived in Baku in the evening. This morning, I visited the Alley of Honor to pay my respects to your great father, Heydar Aliyev. I think you are his worthy son. It was a great honor for me to visit the walk of honor.

I am sure that the soul of your genius father is happy that your beautiful country and people are developing under your leadership.

At the same time, we also visited the Alley of Martyrs. There, I paid my respects to the souls of those who sacrificed their lives for this country. My dear brother, what I saw along the way when I came here left a deep impression on me. Thanks to your hard work and leadership, great things have been done in your country. Before I return to Islamabad, I have a few requests of you. We need your expertise in urban planning and greening. Your city is extremely clean, the issue of waste treatment, that is, in these areas we need your expertise. Indeed, I am very happy and satisfied that your country has developed in this way.

Mr. President, we had very fruitful negotiations today. Of course, I want to say in front of the camera that mutual understanding prevails on all issues in our bilateral talks, and our positions coincide on both bilateral and multilateral issues.
Pakistan and Azerbaijan are two brotherly nations. Our relations are based on mutual support, sincerity and respect. As the plane was landing at Baku airport, I saw that the Pakistani flag was flying there, even outside the airport. A member of the delegation told me, Mr. Prime Minister, look, even outside, the flag of Pakistan is flying.

This is the attitude towards Pakistan in Azerbaijan, and the people of Pakistan love the people of Azerbaijan as brothers and sisters. As a visionary leader, you have also contributed to this work. I can honestly say that these centuries-long relations are very strong. But unfortunately, today our trade and investments are not at the level of those relations. We can do more in the field of mutual cooperation, and I know that Mr. President, You intend to increase it, and we are determined to do so. In today’s meeting with Mr. President, we discussed the issue of further developing these relations in special areas.

Azerbaijan has rich natural resources, including large oil and gas resources. We, of course, have problems in this area. We are a country dependent on very expensive imports. This is very expensive for us. Last year, we spent 27 billion US dollars in this field. That is, my dear Brother, we cannot overcome it because we are faced with various challenges. Our country is under great pressure due to inflation, rising prices of imported oil and the conflict in Ukraine. Imagine, because of this, we spent 27 billion US dollars on energy. Mashallah, Azerbaijan has this wealth and we want to cooperate with Azerbaijan, at the same time, in the field of petrochemical products.

We are in talks with Aramco of Saudi Arabia and we would be very happy if Let Azerbaijan also join this issue and take part of the money we spend in this field as an investment. We have potential in the field of solar energy. If we can realize our dreams through hard work, my dear Brother, I assure you that we can exchange this very expensive cost of importing oil through solar energy. We can even export this energy, it is possible. Because our potential in this field is equal to 10 thousand megawatts. I invite you too. You also gave a very positive opinion on this issue, that Azerbaijan can participate and invest in this field as well. We are ready to provide all kinds of support for Azerbaijan to enter this field.

If we can realize our dreams through hard work, my dear Brother, I assure you that we can exchange this very expensive cost of importing oil through solar energy. We can even export this energy, it is possible. Because our potential in this field is equal to 10 thousand megawatts. I invite you too. You also gave a very positive opinion on this issue, that Azerbaijan can participate and invest in this field as well. We are ready to provide all kinds of support for Azerbaijan to enter this field. If we can realize our dreams through hard work, my dear Brother, I assure you that we can exchange this very expensive cost of importing oil through solar energy. We can even export this energy, it is possible. Because our potential in this field is equal to 10 thousand megawatts. I invite you too. You also gave a very positive opinion on this issue, that Azerbaijan can participate and invest in this field as well. We are ready to provide all kinds of support for Azerbaijan to enter this field.

You also gave a very positive opinion on this issue, that Azerbaijan can participate and invest in this field as well. We are ready to provide all kinds of support for Azerbaijan to enter this field. You also gave a very positive opinion on this issue, that Azerbaijan can participate and invest in this field as well. We are ready to provide all kinds of support for Azerbaijan to enter this field.
Of course, Pakistan is a country that exports rice to Azerbaijan. My representative is here, and he is working very intensively on this so that we can increase the export of rice. Thank you and your government, you have removed all kinds of duties so that Pakistani rice can be exported to the Azerbaijani market without any obstacles. Hopefully, Pakistan’s Basmati rice brand will also be presented in supermarket chains in Azerbaijan.

Transport area, we will discuss this issue again. At the same time, we want to develop tourism. I am very pleased to note that “Azerbaijan Airlines” – AZAL will soon start flights from Baku to Islamabad. Of course, “Pakistan International Airlines” will also cooperate. As far as I know, flights can be opened to Karachi and Lahore as well. I invite the Minister of Transport of Azerbaijan to visit Pakistan so that we can discuss these issues and develop tourism in this area.

Besides, there are other areas where we can cooperate more closely. I assure you that we are ready to work closely with you and we can achieve all our goals.

Thank you, Mr. President, you have always stood by our brothers and sisters on the issue of Kashmir. For more than 70 years, we have been subjected to India’s acts of terrorism and unprecedented violence. There were all kinds of violations. The relevant resolutions of the UN Security Council were even grossly violated to such an extent that Mr. Nehru promised in his parliament in the 50s of the last century that India would keep its promises. But not only that promise, but a number of obligations after that have been sent to the dustbin of history. The brutality committed by them has ended the lives of thousands of our Kashmiri brothers and sisters, they have become martyrs. Even two-three-year-old children were killed. It is possible to see the bodies of civilians in that area every day.

Mr. President, I thank you for your moral support. This is very valuable for us and inspires us, our Kashmiri brothers and sisters, that they will one day achieve the issue of self-determination, I hope.

Pakistan has always supported the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. We have always unequivocally supported the right of Azerbaijan over Karabakh. Your Army fought very bravely and liberated Karabakh and restored the territorial integrity of your country. Pakistan has always supported Azerbaijan. This was our duty and duty as brothers, and we fulfilled it.

I am satisfied that the peace agreement with Armenia is already being negotiated. As you know, Pakistan is one of the few countries that does not establish diplomatic relations with Armenia, and this is our moral obligation. If you send us a message only after signing the peace agreement with Armenia, we can reconsider this issue. We unequivocally support Azerbaijan in this issue as well.

Dear Brother, we have great opportunities. As a result of this cooperation, our import-export will increase very sharply. Azerbaijan can naturally play a very important role in the relations with Pakistan, of course, we have Afghanistan and Iran in our neighborhood. I think that China is another important player. In other words, Pakistan can act as a brotherly country together with Azerbaijan and Turkey in this respect. Pakistan, Azerbaijan, Saudi Arabia are still brother countries. Pakistan, Azerbaijan and the United Arab Emirates are sister countries. Pakistan, Azerbaijan, Qatar are brother countries. That is, see how great things can be done. We as Pakistan need to step up our efforts a bit. We must work more actively, with more energy. I assure you that we will move forward on this issue together.

We can also make progress in the field of defense industry. I have no doubt that our cooperation will develop in this area as well. There are no secrets here, we are not hiding anything. Because ultimately it serves to ensure peace in the region, it is not used for aggression. We protect our rights. We promote peace in this region so that we can protect the interests of our peoples. We look forward to cooperation in this field as well. I will gladly receive your delegation in Islamabad so that more intensive relations can be established in this field. We are waiting for your delegation in the fields of economy, commerce, trade, and aviation. At the same time, we are waiting for your delegation in the field of energy, so that we can attract investment in this field, oil, petrochemical and solar energy fields. I would like to assure you that these will be the most transparent relations, the process will go quickly, we will not waste time and we will remove all bureaucratic obstacles. We will prove in these matters that these are two brotherly countries, we can achieve greater achievements together for the benefit of our peoples.

Thank you again for your hospitality, Mr. President, I am glad to be in your beautiful country. Thank you again for creating this opportunity for us. I have personally witnessed all your achievements, I have seen with my own eyes what has been done in this country under your leadership. I take this opportunity to invite you, Mr. President, to visit Pakistan. I have already instructed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to negotiate dates and I will be happy to see you in Islamabad, God willing.

Thank you for your attention.