On June 15, an official ceremony was held to welcome the Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, who paid an official visit to Azerbaijan, the press office of the President of Azerbaijan reported.

On the same day, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev held one-on-one and expanded talks with Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif.

After the meetings, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif made press statements.

Ilham Aliyev said that Azerbaijan “is very grateful to Pakistan for its support to Azerbaijan during the period of occupation and the 44 days of the Patriotic War of 2020.” "Pakistan is the country that did not establish diplomatic relations with Armenia because of the occupation. And this is a natural position of brothers. We are very grateful for it," he added.
Aliyev stressed that "Azerbaijan has always supported and will continue to support Pakistan on the Kashmir issue. We show this support and solidarity in all international organisations. Of course, mutual support unites our countries and peoples even more".

On economic relations, he said, "Today we discussed a wide range of issues on our bilateral agenda, regional development and regional security issues. We have a full mutual understanding on how to move forward. We agreed that several delegations from Azerbaijan will visit Pakistan soon. One will focus on trade and investment missions, another on issues related to energy cooperation, and the third on issues related to defence industry cooperation. We have also agreed to work hard to increase our mutual trade. The step towards this will be the signing of a memorandum of understanding to start work on this and to work on the list of items to be included in the list of preferential trade between our countries".

Sharif said: "Azerbaijan is rich in natural resources, including large oil and gas reserves. Of course, we have shortages in this area. We are a country that depends on very expensive imports. It is very expensive for us. Last year we spent 27 billion US dollars in this area. In other words, my dear brother, we cannot overcome this because we are facing several different challenges. Our country is under great pressure because of inflation, rising imported oil prices and the conflict in Ukraine. Just imagine, we spent 27 billion US dollars on energy. Praise be to Allah, Azerbaijan has this wealth and we want to cooperate with Azerbaijan in petrochemicals. We are negotiating with Aramco of Saudi Arabia, and we would be very happy if Azerbaijan could join in and take some of the money we spend in this area as investment. We have potential in the field of solar energy. Let me assure you, my dear brother, that if we realise our dreams through hard work, we can exchange this very expensive cost for solar energy, i.e. the cost of importing oil. We can even export that energy. It is possible. Because our potential in this field is 10,000 megawatts. I invite you too. You have also expressed a positive opinion on this issue, because Azerbaijan can participate and invest in this field. We are ready to provide all the support for Azerbaijan to enter this field".

On the Kashmir issue, he said: "Thank you, Mr President; you have always stood by our brothers and sisters on the Kashmir issue. For more than 70 years we have been subjected to India's acts of terrorism and unprecedented violence. All kinds of violations have taken place there. The relevant resolutions of the UN Security Council have been flagrantly violated to the extent that Mr Nehru promised his parliament in the 1950s that India would keep its promises. But not only that promise, but several subsequent commitments have been consigned to the dustbin of history. The brutality they committed ended the lives of thousands of our Kashmiri brothers and sisters. They became martyrs. Even two and three year old children have been killed. It is possible to see the bodies of civilians in this area every day".

"We can also make progress in the field of defence industry. I have no doubt that our cooperation will develop in this area as well. There are no secrets here. We are not hiding anything. Because ultimately it serves the peace agenda in the region and is not used for aggression. We are protecting our rights. We are promoting peace in this region so that we can protect the interests of our people. We look forward to cooperation in this area as well. I will be happy to receive your delegation in Islamabad to establish broader relations in this field. We look forward to your delegations in the economic, commercial, trade and aviation fields. At the same time, we await your delegation in the field of energy so that we can attract investment in this field, in oil, petrochemicals and solar energy," he added.