PM proposes steps to boost trilateral trade

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday proposed a tripartite institutional mechanism, particularly in the economic and investment fields to further strengthen Pakistan-Turkiye-Azerbaijan trilateral economic and commercial cooperation.

Sharing his views during an inaugural session of Pakistan-Turkiye-Azerbaijan Trilateral Summit held on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit, the prime minister underscored that Pakistan deeply valued its fraternal ties with Azerbaijan and Turkiye which were grounded in deep-rooted cultural, historic and religious bonds as well as mutual respect and support towards each other on core issues.

The summit was attended by Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, President of Turkiye, Recep Tayyip Erdogan and President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Heydar Aliyev.

Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif welcomed the convening of inaugural session of Pakistan-Turkiye-Azerbaijan Trilateral Meeting at the summit level, PM Office Media Wing said in a press release.

He termed it a natural progression of trilateral engagements amongst the three brotherly Muslim countries which shared a similar outlook on a host of issues of mutual interest and common concern.

While noting excellent trilateral cooperation in political, parliamentary and defence domains since the First Trilateral Meeting of Foreign Ministers of the three countries held in Baku in 2017, he affirmed Pakistan’s commitment to working together with Turkiye and Azerbaijan to elevate the tripartite cooperation into a strong multifaceted partnership across all areas of mutual interest including economic, energy, tourism, cultural, educational, technology and innovation, healthcare and environmental cooperation.

Emphasizing strong bonds of friendship and robust people-to-people contacts amongst the three countries, the prime minister also outlined significant potential for collaboration in the areas of culture, tourism, academia as well as science and technology.

Pakistan, Turkiye and Azerbaijan have previously held trilateral consultations at the level of foreign ministers, speakers of parliaments and defence personnel.

The trilateral meeting discussed regional and global peace and prosperity and focused on fostering of regional cooperation for sustainable development.

A round of trilateral meeting had already been held among the three respective foreign ministers.

The prime minister said that Pakistan accorded high priority to its bilateral ties with Turkiye and Azerbaijan.

He said Pakistan was committed to enhancing the trilateral cooperation with Turkiye and Azerbaijan in areas of the economy, energy, tourism, climate change, culture, education and IT.