Ambassador: Pakistan supported Azerbaijan at every forum throughout its struggle to get rid of foreign occupation

Ambassador of Pakistan in Baku Bilal Hayee on March 2 expressed the hope that the Pakistan-Azerbaijan trade would get a boost from the current $30 million after both countries signed Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) which was currently under discussion.

The ambassador, talking to APP at Baku Congress Hall – the venue of Non-Aligned Movement Contact Group’s summit on fighting against Covid-19 – being held here, said currently the bilateral trade consisted of 90% exports from Pakistan with rice being the major commodity, per the Associated Press of Pakistan.

Attended by delegates from around 70 states including heads of state from several countries, the summit was aimed at discussing the ways forward to deal with the challenges of the post-COVID new normal featuring food insecurity and economic issues like global inflation.

He said recently, Azerbaijan had exempted customs duty on the export of Pakistani rice which would ultimately increase rice export from $30-40 million.

Highlighting the cultural and bilateral relations, the envoy said Azerbaijan was the only country in Central Asia and South Caucasus to have a direct flight to Pakistan. Besides, Pakistani nationals have also the facility of hassle-free online visas to Azerbaijan, he added.

Ambassador Hayee said Pakistan was an active member of the NAM and the summit was being held in a country with whom Pakistan had very “special relations.”

He said Pakistan supported Azerbaijan at every forum throughout its struggle to get rid of foreign occupation of its territory.

“This is a very different country, which loves Pakistan and we are trying to transform this love into a tangible economic relationship with bilateral trade being the most important,” he remarked.

He said being the second largest platform after the United Nations, the ambassador said NAM always sought a peaceful resolution of regional disputes.

He said at NAM, Pakistan always sought a peaceful resolution of the issues particularly those involving foreign occupation, like Jammu and Kashmir impacting a huge chunk of the NAM population.

He said that development was always linked to peace and in case of any conflict, development was always the first casualty.

He said Economic Affairs Minister Sardar Ayaz Sadiq represented Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif at the summit which would discuss the south-south cooperation and put forward strategies to overcome the post-COVID challenges remaining no more confined to health rather turned into economic challenges.

He said NAM always strived for addressing the fundamental rights of developing countries, instead of indulging in bloc politics.