Azerbaijan assures Pakistan of support on Kashmir issue

ISLAMABAD: Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov Thursday thanked Pakistan for its support on Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and reaffirmed his country’s consistent support and solidarity on the Kashmir dispute. The Azeri foreign minister called on Prime Minister Imran Khan here and discussed with him bilateral relations.

During the meeting, views were exchanged on matters of bilateral relations, regional and international issues. Imran expressed satisfaction over the warm political relations and emphasized the need for enhancing trade and energy cooperation.

He felicitated Azerbaijan over the recent military success in liberation of its occupied territories. On Azerbaijan’s call for support in reconstruction and development of liberated territories, the prime minister assured Jeyhun Bayramov of all possible assistance from Pakistan.

Foreign Minister Bayramov conveyed cordial greetings of President Ilhan Aliyev to Prime Minister Imran Khan. Meanwhile, Pakistan Thursday assured Azerbaijan of its support for rehabilitation and reconstruction in its newly liberated territories. The assurance came during meeting between Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and his Azeri counterpart Jeyhun Bayramov, who is here mainly to attend 2nd Trilateral Meeting of Pakistan, Turkey and Azerbaijan held here on Wednesday.

The two leaders reviewed the entire gamut of Pakistan-Azerbaijan relations and exchanged views on regional and international issues, said a statement release by the Foreign Office. Qureshi underlined the exceptional quality of Pakistan-Azerbaijan political ties and underscored the importance of building a stronger economic relationship.

The two sides reaffirmed the resolve to comprehensively upgrade cooperation in the political, security, trade and economic, energy, connectivity, education and cultural arenas. Qureshi congratulated his counterpart on Azerbaijan’s historic victory in the recent conflict on Nagorno-Karabakh and committed support for rehabilitation and reconstruction activities in the newly liberated territories.

Both sides reviewed with satisfaction the level of cooperation in the international fora, especially at the United Nations, OIC, ECO and NAM, and reiterated their determination to continue mutual collaboration and support on their respective core issues in the global and regional forums.

Qureshi appreciated Azerbaijan’s steadfast support to the just and legitimate cause of the Kashmiri people. As member of the OIC Contact Group on Jammu and Kashmir, Azerbaijan has consistently advocated the principled and legitimate right of the people of IOJ&K to self-determination in accordance with the relevant UN Security Council resolutions, he added.

He underscored the importance of an inclusive and broad-based political solution of the conflict in Afghanistan and highlighted Pakistan’s positive contribution to the Afghan peace process.

Expressing satisfaction over the successful conclusion of 2nd Trilateral Meeting of Pakistan-Turkey and Azerbaijan, it was underlined that trilateral cooperation may be enhanced through specific projects. At the conclusion of delegation-level talks, the two foreign ministers signed an MoU of cooperation in the field of natural emergencies/disasters.