ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is in Azerbaijan on the third stopover of a five-day regional diplomacy tour that also saw him visit Iran and Turkiye, and will today, Wednesday, attend a Pakistan-Turkiye-Azerbaijan trilateral summit, the foreign office said.
Turkiye and Azerbaijan had openly pledged support for Pakistan during its latest military confrontation with archrival India earlier this month while Iran had urged restraint and also offered to mediate.
“Sharif will attend the Pakistan-Turkiye-Azerbaijan Trilateral Meeting,” the foreign office said, releasing the PM’s schedule.
“The Prime Minister, along with the Presidents of Turkiye and Azerbaijan, will also attend a ceremony to mark Azerbaijan’s Independence Day, which the Prime Minister will also address.”
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 with India 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.
On Tuesday, Sharif met the president of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, and thanked his country for its “steadfast support” during the standoff with India, the worst conflict in decades between the nuclear-armed neighbors.
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.
Before Azerbaijan, Sharif went to Iran 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.
At the start of his regional visit, Sharif met Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul 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.
