Foreign

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to the Republic of Azerbaijan Bilal Hayee interviewed by APA Agency

– Recently the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Mr. Shahbaz Sharif visited Azerbaijan. I would like to ask about the outcome of this visit...

– Thank you very much for this opportunity to share with viewers and readers the outcomes of the Pakistani Prime Minister's visit to Baku.  Let me tell you first that this visit was important because the Prime Minister's official visit happened to Baku after seven years. The last visit took place in 2016, so, this was after a gap of seven years both leaders were looking forward to this visit. As you recall, the Prime Minister of Pakistan held some meetings with His Excellency President of Azerbaijan. Leaders of both countries had met on the sidelines of international conferences but bilateral meetings were held within this visit. 

So, this was very important and the Pakistani Prime Minister brought a team, a very high-level team of ministers. Minister of Defence, Minister of Commerce, Minister of Energy and Petroleum, and Minister of Information, highlight the significance of the visit to the people of Pakistan.  We were very happy to see that from the Azerbaijani side also, President Ilham Aliyev was joined and assisted by his cabinet members, Minister of Economy, Minister of Development and Transport, Minister of Foreign Affairs was there and many other ministers, Minister of Defence Industry was there. So that showed the importance of the two leaders attached to this visit and the engagement that they had. They discussed a whole range of bilateral relations ranging from political diplomatic relations to defense ties to energy cooperation, trade and investment opportunities, and people-to-people exchanges. So, I can say that this visit was very productive and useful as far as Pakistan and Azerbaijan's bilateral diplomatic relations. 

– During the joint statements to the media, Azerbaijani President highlighted the importance of cooperation in the military field between the two countries. We know that Pakistan and Azerbaijan have cooperation in this area, such as military training, and joint drills. What can be expected for the future in terms of further expansion of cooperation?

– Yes, if you recall his excellency President Ilham Aliyev during the press statement, and press remarks mentioned that the two leaders had discussed defense cooperation and have agreed to further deepen and expand the areas of cooperation that are taking place between the two sides. President Ilham Aliyev also mentioned that he would soon send a defense delegation to Pakistan to discuss the prospects of how we can further expand this cooperation. And as you mentioned in your question, our cooperation in defense has been one of the most robust pillars of our bilateral cooperation. As you recall in 2021 we had a trilateral exercise with Türkiye, this was called "Three Brothers Exercises". But you know the cooperation is now expanding beyond joint drills and exercises and of course, Azerbaijan has been offered the opportunity to buy and get from the Pakistani military-industrial complex.

A few years ago Pakistan trained "Mashak" aircraft, which is basically a trainer aircraft that was delivered to Azerbaijan. But now the discussion is taking place further export from other areas. So, very soon we hope that in the coming weeks, there will be a delegation visiting from Azerbaijan to Pakistan to discuss the modalities of niche areas, and specific areas as agreed between the two leaders. We hope that the coming weeks and months will bring more good news, and good tidings showing the further expansion and strengthening of defense ties between the two countries.  

– The potential of tourism is always emphasized by officials of both countries. I know new flights launched between two countries, has this development impacted the flow of tourists?

– Number of tourists from Pakistan coming to Baku and other cities in Azerbaijan has increased exponentially in the last two-three years. Especially after the COVID pandemic was finally over. So, Pakistan is among the top countries where foreign nationals visit Azerbaijan for tourism. In 2022 we had over 50 000 Pakistani travelers and tourists who visited Azerbaijan. This year in 2023 we expect this number will further increase and that is why the two leaders agreed that we have Pakistani International Fly to Azerbaijan directly, the leaders agreed and decided that  AZAL will also start direct flights to Pakistan. It was one of the major announcements of the visit. Prime Minister and President Aliyev agreed and the President in fact announced in his press remarks that the flight from Baku to Islamabad will start very soon. So, we hope that with increasing direct flights, the number of tourists will increase. Not only from Pakistan to Azerbaijan but the other way around. We really want to welcome Azerbaijani nationals to visit Pakistan, to see the beauty of Pakistan, the beautiful natural landscape of the country, and to enjoy the warm hospitality of the Pakistani people. Pakistani people will always welcome their Azerbaijani brothers, friends, and sisters to have in Pakistan. So, I think with more frequency in direct flights the number of tourists will increase between the two sides, and that will help in further strengthening people-to-people exchanges, you know that will help to boost trade, that will help boost student exchanges. And we hope that this kind of exchange will help further expand the bilateral ties between our brotherly countries.

– One of the highlights of this high-level visit is related to energy cooperation between Azerbaijan and Pakistan...

– Energy cooperation is one of the most integral components of bilateral cooperation. The Prime Minister had in his delegation our minister of Petroleum. The Minister of Petroleum has also visited Baku three times in the last few months. He had an extensive discussion with the Minister of Energy of Azerbaijan, with the leadership of SOCAR. So, in this visit during the Prime Minister's engagement, and discussions with President Ilham Aliyev, the two leaders agreed to really take this energy cooperation to the next level.  As you know Pakistan is a large country and energy-deficient country, we need multiple sources of energy supplies. So, Azerbaijan is one of the brotherly countries where we have focused on having energy supplies whether it is LNG  or petroleum products. You know this is going to happen in a very regulated manner, in a very formalized manner. And formal agreements will be soon signed. We hope that there will be a visit of Azerbaijan's Energy Minister to Pakistan in the near future and we will see, you know, the entry of SOCAR in Pakistan's energy market very soon and that will further boost bilateral ties between the two countries.

– The Prime Minister's Office said that from this month Azerbaijan will start to send cargo containers of Liquified Natural Gas (LNG). The volume of LNG to be delivered to Pakistan has been agreed?

– This news is correct to the extent that both countries have agreed to get this LNG cargo from Azerbaijan to Pakistan. But you know the quantity, the volume as you know that demand for LNG varies from season to season. Right now we are passing through the hot season, hot weather. Now it is very hot in Pakistan, also in Azerbaijan. So, the demand for LNG is very low.

But as we move into the autumn and winter season, this demand will increase. But there is a complete understanding between the two sides of how the additional demands by Pakistan will be supplied by the Azerbaijani side. So there is complete understanding and convergence on how the two sides will handle that. The important thing is that the governments from both sides are involved, and relevant ministries are involved to have this energy supply from Azerbaijan to Pakistan. And we are very happy that despite uncertain prices in the international market, global market of energy, our Azerbaijani friends help Pakistan a way to overcome Pakistan's energy. So this is a very significant development. 

– LNG is typically more expensive than CNG prices. To buy LNG from Azerbaijan cost-effective for Pakistan?

– Pakistan uses LNG for various purposes and one of the utilizations of LNG  is to fuel our electricity power plants which is important. And of course,  LNG is used to produce electricity and other sources of energy to run our industry which is very important. And the final optimization of LNG is for the benefit of the people of Pakistan. 

So, we understand that LNG is relatively more expensive but when you do not have sufficient indigenous supply gas inside the country you are bound to have them from outside sources, from outside partners. Of course, Azerbaijan is a brotherly country and they have agreed to supply this LNG to Pakistan at a relatively better price compared to market prices. That is what provides incentives for this energy cooperation. 

– The second aspect of energy cooperation is related to renewable energy, your Prime Minister invited Azerbaijan to invest in this sector in Pakistan.

– Yes, this discussion was held by the respective leaders. And as you know that although Pakistan does not have conventional sources of energy, Pakistan has immense potential for renewable energy. Especially, the solar energy potential is there and our Prime Minister invited the Azerbaijani investors, the government, SOCAR, and other potential investors to explore the huge market that exists and the potential that exists in renewable energy especially, solar power plants.  There was a lot of interest from the Azerbaijani side. President Ilham Aliyev showed his interest and he agreed that he will send a delegation to Pakistan to look into this aspect from the investment perspective. We look forward to receiving the Azerbaijani delegation to Pakistan in the incoming weeks. Pakistan is a large country, and solar power plants and solar cells are in increasing demand. There is a huge potential for investment by foreign investors especially, brotherly countries like Azerbaijan to get this opportunity, to explore and invest in that area where they can have a real proposition for both sides.

So, we hope that this area of cooperation will mature very soon, will be functionalized and we will see Azerbaijani investment in Pakistan in renewable energy, especially in solar power plants.  

 – In Baku, when your Prime Minister delivered a speech he said Pakistan does not recognize Armenia and has diplomatic relations with that country. But he also added that Pakistan waits for a signal from Baku...

 – You know, this is a very complex and multifaceted question. But if I address in a way that Pakistan is probably the only country that has so far not recognized Armenia and not established diplomatic relations. This was discussed during the Prime Minister's visit and the Pakistani Prime Minister mentioned that we were closely monitoring the developments with regards to various peace processes. Peace processes between Azerbaijan and Armenia but many friends are trying to facilitate these negotiations. So, we see that Russia and the United States are involved in this process. We also know that the European Union offers its good offices to encourage direct engagement between Azerbaijan and Armenia to normalize their relations.

Pakistan is a long-time friend of Azerbaijan and we wish Azerbaijan and the people of Azerbaijan well and believe that once Azerbaijan has normalized relations with the neighboring country, Armenia after the peace treaty and delimitation of borders. This development will be beneficial for the entire region and I am sure the other country which is a neighbor of Azerbaijan will also get significant benefits. Because they have been missing the opportunities of trade corridors, energy corridors, and other opportunities. So normalization of relations with Azerbaijan is also beneficial for Armenia.

So far Pakistan has not established any direct links with Armenia that is because of our good relations with Azerbaijan. But we sincerely hope that this equation will change in the future and that Azerbaijan and Armenia will normalize their relations as normal neighboring countries. And we appreciate the efforts of the President of Azerbaijan to offer a peace treaty to sign, to have delimitation of borders of liberated territories that belong to Azerbaijan, and also to open communication and transport corridors that will help the entire region. So, we appreciate these efforts. We hope and pray that in the future these discussions will bring concrete results to countries, and Azerbaijan and Armenia will be able to normalize their relations. We already see some positive developments as you know there was a response from the Armenian side, the willingness to have this railway between mainland Azerbaijan and the Autonomous region Nakchivan as part of the Zangazur corridor. So, I think these are good signs, early signs and we hope that they will increase in the future and lead to full normalization between the two countries. 

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