Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev have finalized a $2 billion investment package aimed at boosting trade and promoting joint ventures in Pakistan. The agreement, reached during their meeting in Baku, marks a significant step in strengthening bilateral ties between the two nations.
As part of the collaboration, both leaders witnessed the signing of an amendment to the Master LNG Sale and Purchase Agreement, facilitating LNG cargo transactions. Additionally, Azerbaijan’s state oil company SOCAR, Pakistan’s Frontier Works Organization (FWO), and Pakistan State Oil (PSO) signed an agreement to collaborate on the Machike-Thallian-Tarujabba White Oil Pipeline Project.
During a joint press conference, Prime Minister Shehbaz assured that he would personally oversee the progress of Azerbaijan’s investments in Pakistan. He emphasized his commitment to ensuring smooth execution without any delays.
“I’m pleased to announce that we’ve had extensive discussions to finalize Azerbaijan’s $2 billion investment in mutually beneficial projects. I look forward to welcoming my dear brother, President Aliyev, to Pakistan in April to sign historic agreements formalizing this investment,” the prime minister stated in a social media post.
Highlighting the significance of this collaboration, PM Shehbaz described it as a “quantum leap” in trade and investment relations between the two countries. “This investment will bring substantial benefits to both nations. Our business and trade ties were not reflecting the true strength of our relationship, but today, we’ve reached a milestone that we will soon celebrate,” he added.
President Aliyev echoed the prime minister’s sentiments, acknowledging that the current bilateral trade volume, limited to a few tens of millions of dollars, needed significant growth.
“We now have a clear roadmap to achieve this,” President Aliyev said. “We’ve received concrete project proposals from Pakistan, and our representatives are evaluating them. Our goal is to finalize all discussions within a month, so by early April, we can have the necessary agreements ready for signing.”
He further highlighted that the projects span multiple sectors, including infrastructure, energy, economy, and mining. The two leaders also discussed expanding cooperation in defense production, with Azerbaijan expressing satisfaction with the quality of defense equipment acquired from Pakistan.
“In addition to continued procurement, we are now exploring opportunities for joint manufacturing of defense equipment, which will further strengthen our partnership,” President Aliyev noted.
On the topic of connectivity and people-to-people exchanges, President Aliyev pointed out the success of regular airline connections between the two countries, predicting further growth in travel and cultural exchange.