Pakistan calls for exhibition centers to promote bilateral trade with Azerbaijan

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is aiming to establish exhibition centers to promote bilateral trade with Azerbaijan through which investors in both countries can showcase their products effectively, Privatization Minister Abdul Aleem Khan said recently, as Islamabad eyes deeper economic cooperation with Baku. 

The statement followed Khan’s meeting with Israfil Mammadov, the chief executive officer of Azerbaijan’s State Oil Fund in Baku on Sunday, during which the two discussed bilateral trade and investment matters. Khan is part of a delegation of ministers who arrived in Baku on Sunday night with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on a two-day official visit to the country. 

Sharif arrived in Azerbaijan to discuss enhanced bilateral cooperation in areas like defense, trade and energy. His visit comes as part of Pakistan’s broader economic diplomacy with landlocked Central Asian states, to which it has offered access to its southern ports in Karachi and Gwadar for international trade.

“Federal Minister Abdul Aleem Khan further stated that after the establishment of the Pakistan-Azerbaijan Joint Chamber of Commerce in Islamabad, we are aimed to establish Exhibition Centers for investors to showcase products effectively which would help in increasing imports and exports for both states,” the Ministry of Privatization said in a statement on Sunday. 

Pakistan and Azerbaijan earlier this month inaugurated a joint chamber of commerce in Islamabad to bring investment matters related to their countries’ priority sectors under a single window. 

During his discussions with Mammadov, Khan pointed out that the partnership between the two countries was entering a new phase, adding that it would prove “brighter” for Pakistan. 

“Abdul Aleem Khan also highlighted that Azerbaijan could invest in Pakistan’s communications sector, specifically in the construction of Motorways in Sindh and Karachi, which would help Pakistan to connect with Central Asian Countries,” the ministry said. 

Pakistan’s economic engagement with Azerbaijan has also gained momentum more recently as the South Asian country seeks to escape a prolonged economic crisis that brought it to the brink of a sovereign default in 2023. In July 2024, the top leaders of both countries discussed investment and trade projects worth $2 billion during Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev’s state visit to Pakistan.

During his two-day visit, Sharif will hold high-level meetings with Aliyev and other senior Azerbaijan officials. Several agreements and memoranda of understanding are expected to be signed in multiple areas of cooperation during the visit, Pakistan’s Press Information Department said on Sunday. 

The Pakistani prime minister and Azerbaijan’s leadership will also address the Pakistan-Azerbaijan Business Forum on Monday, the PID said. It said the forum will bring together business leaders from both countries to explore avenues for joint ventures and trade and investment opportunities, emphasizing business-to-business (B2B) collaboration.