ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is visiting Azerbaijan where he will discuss with officials cooperation in energy, trade, defense and other fields, besides attending 5th Victory Day celebrations, Sharif’s office said.

The Victory Day event in Baku will mark Azerbaijan’s triumph in the second Nagorno-Karabakh war, which culminated in the liberation of its occupied territories on November 8, 2020.

Pakistan and Azerbaijan maintain close ties and during his visit, the Pakistani prime minister will hold a meeting with Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev.

“Discussions will focus on reviewing the entire gamut of bilateral relations and identifying new avenues to further deepen cooperation in diverse sectors including trade and investment, energy, defense, education, and regional connectivity,” Sharif’s office said.

Besides their long-standing fraternal relations, Pakistan and Azerbaijan maintain close cooperation in regional and international fora, including the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), and the United Nations (UN).

In July 2024, Azerbaijan announced a $2 billion investment in Pakistan during a visit by President Aliyev to Islamabad. In September last year, Pakistan signed a contract to supply JF-17 Block III fighter jets to Azerbaijan, marking the deepening of defense cooperation.

This is Sharif’s fourth visit to Azerbaijan this year. In July, he met with President Aliyev in Khankendi on the sidelines of the 17th Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) summit, while he had traveled to Baku in May as part of a broader push at economic diplomacy with the Central Asian republics, to whom Pakistan has offered access to its southern ports in Karachi and Gwadar.

“The visit by the Prime Minister will reaffirm Pakistan’s steadfast support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and to further advance the strategic partnership between the two brotherly nations,” Sharif’s office said.