Pakistan and Azerbaijan commemorate 30 years of diplomatic ties

Islamabad: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in collaboration with the Embassy of Azerbaijan in Islamabad, organized a special event and a photo exhibition at the Foreign Office Thursday to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Pakistan and Azerbaijan.

Foreign Secretary Sohail Mahmood and Ambassador Khazar Farhadov of Azerbaijan formally inaugurated the exhibition. The photographs on display had been carefully curated to showcase the rich history of leadership-level engagement between the two countries as well as important milestones in the bilateral relationship.

Speaking on the occasion, the Foreign Secretary said that Pakistan-Azerbaijan relations had evolved into a robust and multi-dimensional partnership since the formal establishment of bilateral ties in 1992. He highlighted that the two countries had a long-standing tradition of supporting each other on their issues of core interest.

The Foreign Secretary recalled Pakistan’s support for Azerbaijan’s position on the Nagorno-Karabakh issue. He appreciated Azerbaijan’s principled stance on the Jammu and Kashmir dispute, noting that Azerbaijan had been a consistent advocate for the rights of the Kashmiri people as a member of the OIC Contact Group on Jammu and Kashmir.

While expressing satisfaction with the state of bilateral relations, the Foreign Secretary reiterated Pakistan’s resolve to further strengthen and diversify its cooperation with Azerbaijan, particularly in the economic, trade and cultural domains.

Ambassadors and senior diplomats from the Central Asian States as well as Turkey participated in the event. Members of the media and representatives from the Multicultural Center of Azerbaijan, which has recently been established at the National University of Modern Languages (NUML), were also in attendance.