‘Azerbaijan eyes multi-billion-dollar investment in Pakistan’

ISLAMABAD: Minister for Petroleum Musadik Malik on Wednesday said that Azerbaijan was considering an investment of $2 to $3 billion in Pakistan.

Speaking exclusively to ARY News, the minister said that Azerbaijan was particularly interested in the mineral sector, including oil and gas.

The minister said that the Central Asian country was focusing on the oil and gas exploration sector, noting their keen interest in expanding investments in the LNG sector as well.

The prime minister is eager to increase economic cooperation with friendly countries, Malik said and added, the government prioritises investment over aid from friendly nations.

He further mentioned that Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s visit to Pakistan was very much expected to boost trade relations. Discussions will include increasing textile exports and promoting the IT sector between the two countries, he said.

Malik expressed optimism that these initiatives will significantly enhance economic ties between the two countries.

The statement came as President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev is scheduled to undertake an official visit to Pakistan from July 11-12, 2024, at the invitation of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

During the visit, President Aliyev will hold meetings with President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, a Foreign Office press release said.

Several agreements and memorandum of understanding are expected to be signed during the visit.

Recently, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif attended an inaugural session of Pakistan-Turkiye-Azerbaijan Trilateral Summit held on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit.

The summit was also attended by President of Turkiye, Recep Tayyip Erdogan and President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Heydar Aliyev.

During the session, PM Shehbaz Sharif proposed to establish tripartite institutional mechanisms particularly in economic and investment areas to further strengthen Pakistan-Turkiye-Azerbaijan trilateral economic and commercial cooperation.

He affirmed Pakistan’s commitment to working together with Turkiye and Azerbaijan to elevate the tripartite cooperation into a strong multifaceted partnership across all areas of mutual interest including economic, energy, tourism, cultural, educational, technology and innovation, healthcare and environmental cooperation.