Pakistan and Azerbaijan have signed agreements and memorandums of understanding (MOUs), chiefly about trade and energy, during a visit to Azerbaijan by Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
Sharif arrived Sunday in the Azerbaijani capital, Baku, for a two-day visit to hold talks with President Ilham Aliyev and other top officials.
In a post on social media, the Pakistani leader said he had an “excellent meeting” with Aliyev, saying the two worked on finalizing a portfolio of investments Azerbaijan plans to make in Pakistan.
Aliyev promised a $2 billion investment during a visit to Pakistan last July.
“This will be the first quantum jump in our trade and investment relations and will be a huge reflection of our fraternal ties,” a statement from the Pakistani prime minister’s office quoted Sharif as saying.
This is Sharif’s second visit to the Central Asian country since taking office in February of last year.
Aliyev is expected to sign final agreements for investment during a visit to Pakistan in April.
“We received concrete projects from Pakistan, and Azerbaijani representatives are evaluating them. Today we put ambitious and realistic targets to finalize all the discussions within one month and by the beginning of April, the documents will be prepared for signing," the Pakistani statement quoted Aliyev as saying.
Agreements on pipeline, LNG delivery
During Sharif’s visit, Azerbaijan’s state-owned oil company, SOCAR, exchanged several MOUs with Pakistan’s oil trading and refining companies, including one to complete a pipeline in the South Asian country, Pakistan's state-run news agency reported.
The Machike-Thallian-Tarujabba White Oil Pipeline Project is designed to transport oil within Pakistan.
Both sides also signed updated agreements and MOUs on the delivery of liquified natural gas, or LNG, from Azerbaijan to Pakistan.
Prior to the trip, Pakistan’s Economic Cooperation Committee approved a three-year extension of the LNG Framework Agreement between SOCAR and Pakistan LNG Limited Thursday.
Signed in 2023, the agreement allows Pakistan to procure one shipload of LNG per month when required, without any financial commitments, according to the statement from Pakistan’s Ministry of Finance.
Such an agreement allows Pakistan to purchase energy products as needed rather than using precious foreign exchange reserves to pay for unused cargo.
According to Sharif’s office, Aliyev also discussed joint defense production with Pakistan.
“Azerbaijan has already acquired defense equipment from Pakistan and we are satisfied with the quality of this equipment and we will continue to do it,” the Azerbaijani leader was quoted as saying.
Last September, the Pakistani military signed a deal to sell JF-17 Thunder block III fighter jets to the Central Asian country. The jets are jointly produced by Pakistan and China.
The visit, aimed at bringing more foreign investment to Pakistan, comes as the country prepares for a review of a three-year bailout program with the International Monetary Fund when the lender’s team visits in March.
Pakistan reached a $7 billion loan agreement with the Washington-based lender last September to avoid a balance-of-payment crisis.
In a push to further deepen ties with Central Asian countries, Sharif heads to Uzbekistan Tuesday.
