PM to embark on two-day official visit to Azerbaijan today
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is with Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev in Astana. PHOTO COURTESY: FACEBOOK/GOVERNMENT OF PAKISTAN/FILE
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will leave for a two-day official visit to Azerbaijan on Wednesday, at the invitation of President Ilham Aliyev.
According to the Foreign Office, ministers representing priority areas of cooperation with Azerbaijan will be part of the premier's entourage.
— Spokesperson 🇵🇰 MoFA (@ForeignOfficePk) June 13, 2023
During the visit, Shehbaz will hold wide-ranging talks with President Aliyev on key areas of cooperation including trade, investment and energy.
Regional and global issues of mutual concern and cooperation in multilateral forums will also be discussed.
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It emerged earlier this week, that Pakistan has issued two tenders seeking spot liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargoes for the first time in nearly a year, while also announcing a deal that will see Azerbaijan provide the country with one LNG cargo per month.
Dependent on gas for power generation and running short of foreign exchange to pay for imports, Pakistan has struggled to procure spot cargoes of LNG after global prices spiked last year following the Russia-Ukraine conflict, leaving it to face widespread power outages.
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Shehbaz’s visit to Azerbaijan comes against the backdrop of heightened political tensions and economic insecurity in the country, with the former bringing to the fore rifts within the judiciary and the civil-military establishment.
The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)-led coalition government of parties allied under the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) have thus far responded in the negative to speculations regarding moves to extend the tenure of the National Assembly and delay general elections in the country.
Meanwhile, the federal budget passed for the financial year 2023-24 has been met with much criticism for doing little to tackle the challenges facing the country’s economy including its fiscal deficit, rising inflation and increasing debt as the government holds out hope for yet another bailout by the International Monetary Fund.