Pakistan, Azerbaijan to undertake joint military training

BAKU: Pakistan and Azerbaijan have decided to go for joint defence production and agreed to undertake joint military training of the two armed forces.The understanding was announced in a joint press conference at the presidential palace here after two-hour one-to-one meeting between Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif and host President Ilham Aliyev.

Azerbaijan is the first Central Asian country which parted from the erstwhile Soviet Union and Pakistan has announced to have close military cooperation with it.Pakistan will also sell its state-of-the-art multirole fighter plane JF-17 Thunder to Azerbaijan and other defence equipment.

The details would be worked out later. The two countries also had delegation-level talks.Azerbaijan also announced its unflinching support for the people of Kashmir and President Aliyev condemned the brutalities of Indian forces in the Indian Held Kashmir (IHK).

Nawaz is here on a three-day official visit. He spent his second hectic day with back-to-back engagements. He also met his Azerbaijan counterpart Artur Tahir Rasizada.Nawaz was also conferred upon honorary degree of doctorate by the State University of Baku amid applause in the jam-packed hall of the university.

The degree has been awarded to him for his services for democracy, peace and strengthening ties between Pakistan and Azerbaijan.Addressing the media, Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev said both countries had discussed plans for joint military training between their armed forces.

“Pakistan has a very developed defence industry. We discussed detailed cooperation in this area. We can work together to establish joint production,” said President Aliyev.The Azerbaijan president, who will visit Pakistan shortly, said political contacts will continue and both countries had discussed how to increase the levels of trade.

“What we can export to each other will be closely addressed in the coming months,” he said.President Aliyev said the travel between the two countries would become easier once electronic visa system was put in place.

Nawaz called for all regional and global issues to be resolved through dialogue and peaceful means and within the international laws.“Our mutual support on the issue of Kashmir testifies to the close understanding of our two countries. I appreciate Azerbaijan’s support for Pakistan’s stance on Kashmir which calls for resolution through dialogue and peaceful means. The mutual support should remain firmly in place,” he said.

“We have signed a joint declaration that depicts our mutual stance to diversify our diplomatic relations. We seek to further our relations in the fields of economy, investment, trade and finance,” Prime Minister Nawaz said.

It is the first visit to Azerbaijan by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on the invitation of President Aliyev.“We have agreed to work in several fields including defence, energy, agriculture and economy,” Prime Minister Nawaz said.

“The joint meeting reflected the common goal of prosperity and development.”He said Pakistan’s aspirations for peace should not be taken as a sign of weakness and that all regional issues pertaining to Kashmir need to be resolved at the earliest.

Pakistan has been an advocate of peace despite naked aggression from certain quarters.The prime minister facilitated Azerbaijan’s stance on Kashmir and stressed that the issue needs to be resolved in accordance with the resolutions of the United Nations. “Our regions have remained hostile to these situations,” Premier Nawaz remarked.

He said Pakistan fully supports that regional and global disputes should be resolved peacefully to secure the world. He said the present volume of trade between the two countries was not commensurate with the potential they have and called for measures to boost economic and trade cooperation.

Nawaz demanded withdrawal of occupying Armenian troops from the disputed Nogorno Karabakh and said the issue must be resolved peacefully.President Ilham Aliyev said the Kashmir issue should be resolved according to the UN Security Council resolutions.

He regretted non-implementation of the UN resolutions to hold a plebiscite in the IHK. He said Pakistan and Azerbaijan enjoy cordial and friendly relationship, which was vital for regional security.

Earlier, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev held wide-ranging talks in Baku covering all aspects of bilateral relations.

The prime minister thanked the president of Azerbaijan on the warm welcome and maintained that Pakistan and Azerbaijan were two brotherly countries. He reminded that his government was pursuing the policy of regional connectivity and China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) was a shining example of it.

Ilham Aliyev said Azerbaijan was eager to strengthen economic cooperation with Pakistan as broad-based cooperation between the two countries in diverse fields must be pursued.Nawaz said he was happy to see Baku being turned into a modern and clean city. He said Azerbaijan had made tremendous progress and prosperity in half century, which was truly remarkable.

The minister said Azerbaijan must be a role model for all developing Muslim countries.Ilham Aliyev thanked the prime minister for accepting his invitation to visit Azerbaijan.The guard of honour was presented to the visiting leader and national anthems of the two brotherly countries were played.President Ilham later hosted a lunch in the honour of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.