Islamabad: In a significant step to bolster economic ties, Pakistan and Azerbaijan have agreed to enhance their bilateral trade and investment relations. This commitment was made during a meeting on the sidelines of the Azerbaijani President’s visit to Pakistan.

According to Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, the discussion involved a high-level Azerbaijani delegation and was led on the Pakistani side by the Minister for Petroleum, Dr. Musadik Malik. Dr. Malik detailed opportunities for enhancing trade and investment between the two nations, emphasizing Pakistan’s strategy to diversify its market connections across Central Asia to Europe and explore vast opportunities in the mining sector, specifically in gold and copper.

Further discussions focused on cooperation in the oil and gas sectors and leveraging technology in areas like artificial intelligence and machine learning to train human resources. The Minister for Power, Sardar Awais Khan Leghari, highlighted investment opportunities in Pakistan’s power sector, noting the potential for high returns for Azerbaijani investors.

Commerce Minister Jam Kamal stressed the importance of organizing comprehensive briefings for the private sectors of both countries to further facilitate these initiatives. The Azerbaijani delegation expressed a strong resolve to strengthen the working groups between the two countries to ensure swift and effective implementation of these plans.

Both parties agreed to appoint focal persons, shortlist projects, and present them for leadership approval at an early date, underscoring a mutual commitment to fast-track these collaborative efforts.