ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday met the president of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, and thanked his country for its “steadfast support” during a recent military standoff with India, the worst conflict in decades between the nuclear-armed neighbors. 

Sharif is in Azerbaijan on the third stopover of a five-day regional diplomacy tour that also saw him visit Iran and Turkiye. Turkiye and Azerbaijan had openly pledged support for Pakistan during the standoff with India while Iran had urged restraint multiple times and also offered to mediate.

The four-day military escalation saw Pakistan and India launch missiles and drones deep into each other’s territories and exchange gunfire on their de facto border, the Line of Control, until a ceasefire was announced on May 10. Nearly 70 people combined were killed on both sides of the border. 

“The prime minister thanked Azerbaijan for its steadfast support during the recent Pakistan-India confrontation, in the face of Indian provocation and acknowledged the public expressions of solidarity from both the leadership and the people of brotherly Azerbaijan,” Sharif’s office said in a statement. 

“He said that people of Azerbaijan celebrated the success of Pakistan.”

During the meeting, which took place on the eve of a trilateral summit between Pakistan, Azerbaijan and Türkiye, Sharif and Aliyev reviewed bilateral relations and expressed satisfaction on the trajectory of political, economic, defense, and cultural cooperation.

“They reaffirmed their shared commitment to diversifying the strategic partnership through investment in mutually beneficial avenues,” the prime minister’s office said. 

“Azerbaijan side agreed to exchange of delegations with regard to progress in investment of Azerbaijan in Pakistan. In this regard delegation level talks will be organized very soon.”

Pakistan and Azerbaijan have strengthened ties in recent years through defense and energy cooperation and Baku has supported Islamabad’s position on the Kashmir dispute at international forums.

Islamabad has also offered Azerbaijan access to its seaports to facilitate trade with global markets and promoted regional connectivity initiatives linking Central Asia to South Asia.

At the start of his regional visit, Sharif met Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan in Türkiye and thanked him for Ankara’s strong backing during the conflict with India. The two leaders also discussed expanding cooperation in defense production, energy, IT, agriculture and infrastructure and agreed to pursue a bilateral trade target of $5 billion, building on commitments made during the 7th High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council held in Islamabad earlier this year.

Sharif also visited Tehran, where he held meetings with President Masoud Pezeshkian and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. 

At a joint press stakeout with the Iranian president, Sharif made a peace offer to India, saying Pakistan was ready for talks on contentious issues including Kashmir, water-sharing and countering terrorism.