Azerbaijan, Pakistan discuss military cooperation PHOTO

Azerbaijani First Deputy Defence Minister, Chief of the General Staff of the Army Col-Gen Karim Valiyev and Pakistan’s Federal Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif have met to discuss military cooperation between the two countries.

At the meeting with the visiting Azerbaijani delegation led by Valiyev, Asif pointed out that Azerbaijani-Pakistani military relations are at a high level, Caliber.Az reports, citing the Azerbaijani Defence Ministry.

The federal defence minister mentioned that Pakistan recognises Azerbaijan's territorial integrity and attaches special importance to the expansion of military relations with this country.

He also noted that both countries provide mutual support to each other on all issues including a bilateral basis and the framework of international organisations.

The situation and new challenges in the regions where Azerbaijan and Pakistan are located necessitate the strengthening of military cooperation between the two countries, Asif said.

The Pakistani minister emphasised the importance of increasing the combat capability of the armies of both countries, experiencing exchange in this field, as well as further developing the achieved results.

For his part, General Staff Chief Valiyev expressed his gratitude for the warm reception and conveyed the greetings of Azerbaijan Defence Minister Col Gen Zakir Hasanov to Khawaja Muhammad Asif.

He also emphasised that the expansion of cooperation with Pakistan in the military field is always in the spotlight of Azerbaijan’s president, Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Ilham Aliyev.

Col Gen Valiyev gave detailed information to the Pakistani minister about the engineering and reconstruction works carried out in the liberated territories, as well as the provocations committed by the Armenian armed forces on the conditional border and the measures taken to suppress these provocations.

In addition, the sides discussed the conduct of joint exercises, defence industry cooperation, including a series of issues of mutual interest. The importance of further expansion of military and military-technical cooperation between Azerbaijan and Pakistan was emphasised.

Azerbaijan’s Ambassador to Pakistan Khazar Farhadov also participated in the meeting.

Pakistan and Azerbaijan marked the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations in 2022. Pakistan and Azerbaijan share a special political bond that transcends their geographical distance. It allows for collaboration in a variety of fields, particularly those related to the military and business.

Pakistan was among the first countries to express political support for Azerbaijan during the 44-day war with Armenia in 2020. Pakistan also supports Azerbaijan in the restoration of the country's liberated territories.