On July 11, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev arrived on a state visit to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. 

Meeting with Shehbaz Sharif

In Islamabad, President Ilham Aliyev held limited and expanded meetings with Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif. Following these meetings, the two leaders made press statements.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif stated, "In today's in-depth conversation, we have agreed to enhance our bilateral trade. We've also discussed areas of joint cooperation and joint investments. If I may say, with your permission, Mr. President, we have discussed an initial figure of $2 billion in investments in mutually beneficial projects. We had an initial discussion today, and tomorrow, a formal discussion will take place with the two countries' teams. Hopefully, when I undertake my visit to your great country in November, both sides will be ready to ink agreements worth $2 billion to start with. Inshallah, there is great potential on both sides to significantly increase these figures in the years to come. The Pakistani side will work diligently to catch up with the speed of our brotherly country, Azerbaijan, so that we can turn these discussions into genuine action."

President Aliyev remarked, "Our brotherhood is based on deep feelings between our peoples, which go back centuries. More Pakistanis have been visiting Azerbaijan in recent years. We just discussed direct flights between Baku and Islamabad, Baku and Karachi, and Baku and Lahore. When people from Pakistan come to the old city and see the caravanserai called Multan, they understand how connected we've been throughout the centuries. This connection is a significant asset. Today, brotherly relations between Pakistan and Azerbaijan are based on this foundation. We are brothers and friends, supporting each other on every issue in every international institution. Our straightforward support on the issue of Jammu and Kashmir is a commitment to our brotherhood and respect for international law. The rights of Kashmiris have been ignored and violated for decades. United Nations Security Council resolutions clearly indicate how this issue must be resolved, but unfortunately, they have no implementation mechanism. We, as brothers and friends, will always stand side by side with you, with our brothers in Kashmir, with international law, and with justice. And I'm sure justice will prevail."

He added, "We gave all necessary instructions to our Cabinet of Ministers. They are already in contact, and tomorrow morning, they will meet again before we meet with my dear brothers to review and analyze the projects. The initial amount of investments, as mentioned by my brother, is around $2 billion. We reviewed several projects in the areas of energy, infrastructure, connectivity, and many others, including the defense industry, where we are cooperating very successfully. We will build a strong partnership not only on a political level but also on an economic level – trade and investments. Look at how many documents have been signed today, and we witnessed the exchange of those documents. It took a lot of time just to exchange, so you can imagine how much time it took to prepare these documents. Based on this, we will definitely increase the level of mutual trade. One document I'd like to mention specifically is on preferential trade. We identified nine positions where we have a preferential trade format, but this is only the beginning. The big responsibility will be on the person my brother asked to stand up so everyone in Islamabad knows him. It is a big responsibility and a great honor to participate in this renovation. I can tell you that I already, upon the request of my brother, sent him and his team. They have been here for quite a while. They prepared the first version of the project, which we submitted to the dear Prime Minister. They will review and, if approved, he will come with his team immediately to do everything necessary to make the beautiful city even more beautiful."

Meeting with Asif Ali Zardari

On July 12, the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, held an expanded meeting with the President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Asif Ali Zardari, in Islamabad. During the meeting, both sides praised the high level of political relations between their countries. They noted that Pakistan and Azerbaijan have consistently supported each other, with Pakistan providing political support to Azerbaijan during the thirty-year occupation of its territories and backing Azerbaijan's just position in adherence to international law principles.

The parties highlighted the potential for further expansion of economic and trade relations between the two countries. President Asif Ali Zardari congratulated President Ilham Aliyev on Azerbaijan's hosting of COP29, and President Aliyev extended an invitation to the President of Pakistan to attend COP29.

During their conversation, the sides discussed enhancing economic and trade relations and investment cooperation between Azerbaijan and Pakistan and exchanged views on other issues of mutual interest.

Bilateral documents

A ceremony to exchange the documents signed between Azerbaijan and Pakistan with the participation of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif was held in Islamabad.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan Mohammad Ishaq Dar and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan Samir Sharifov exchanged the "Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan on Consular Affairs."

Minister of Commerce of Pakistan Jam Kamal Khan and Minister of Digital Development and Transport of Azerbaijan Rashad Nabiyev exchanged the "Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan on transit trade."

Minister of Commerce of Pakistan Jam Kamal Khan and Deputy Minister of Economy of Azerbaijan Sahib Mammadov exchanged the "Preferential Trade Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan."

Minister of Communications and Privatization of Pakistan Abdul Aleem Khan and Deputy Minister of Economy of Azerbaijan Sahib Mammadov exchanged the "Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Ministry of Privatization of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan on cooperation in the field of privatization of state property."

Minister of Law and Justice of Pakistan Azam Nazeer Tarar and Co-chair of the Azerbaijan-Pakistan Joint Commission/Minister of Defense Industry of Azerbaijan Vugar Mustafayev exchanged the "Memorandum of Cooperation between the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Ministry of Law and Justice of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan."

Minister of Energy of Pakistan Musadik Masood Malik and Minister of Energy of Azerbaijan Parviz Shahbazov exchanged the "Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan on cooperation in the field of mineral resources and geology."

Minister of National Heritage and Culture of Pakistan Attaullah Tarar and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan Samir Sharifov exchanged the "Cultural Exchange Program between the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the National Heritage and Culture Division of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan for the years 2024-2029."

Minister of Information Technology and Telecommunication of Pakistan Shaza Fatima Khawaja and Minister of Digital Development and Transport of Azerbaijan Rashad Nabiyev exchanged the "Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Digital Development and Transport of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunications of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan on cooperation in the field of information and communication technologies."

The chairperson of Pakistan Television Corporation Limited, Shahera Shahid, and the Ambassador of Azerbaijan to Pakistan, Khazar Farhadov, exchanged the "Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation between the Azerbaijan Television and Radio Broadcasting, Closed Joint-stock Company and the Pakistan Television Corporation LTD of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan."

Secretary of the Ministry of Science and Technology of Pakistan Ali Tahir and Minister of Digital Development and Transport of Azerbaijan Rashad Nabiyev exchanged the "Agreement on Scientific and Technological Cooperation between the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan."

Secretary of the Inter-Provincial Coordination Division of Pakistan Nadeem Irshad Kayani and Co-Chair of the Azerbaijan-Pakistan Joint Commission/Minister of Defense Industry of Azerbaijan Vugar Mustafayev exchanged the "Agreement on cooperation in the field of tourism between the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan."

Secretary of the Ministry of Aviation of Pakistan Saif Anjum and Minister of Digital Development and Transport of Azerbaijan Rashad Nabiyev exchanged the "Air Services Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan."

Administrator at Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad Rana Muhammad Waqas Anwar and Head of Baku City Executive Authority Eldar Azizov exchanged the "Memorandum of Understanding on the establishment of twinning links between the city of Baku (the Republic of Azerbaijan) and the city of Islamabad (the Islamic Republic of Pakistan)."

Chief Executive Officer of the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority of Pakistan Socrat Aman Rana and Deputy Minister of Economy of Azerbaijan Sahib Mammadov exchanged the "Memorandum of Understanding between Small and Medium Business Development Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan and Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan."

The Chairperson of the Pakistan Academy of Letters, Najeeba Arif, and the Ambassador of Azerbaijan to Pakistan, Khazar Farhadov, exchanged the "Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in Literature and Science between the Institute of Literature named after Nizami Ganjavi of Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences and the Pakistan Academy of Letters of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan."