Expert: Pakistan to raise co-op with Azerbaijan to new level

There is hope that the new government will raise the relations between Pakistan and Azerbaijan to a new level, Qaiser Nawab - Founder Executive Director, Global Strategic Institute for Sustainable Development – GSISD in Pakistan, told Report.

He was commenting on the election of Leader of the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PMLN) Shehbaz Sharif as Prime Minister of Pakistan.

“The current political situation is polarized. Political and constitutional uncertainty has been washed away by the election of new prime minister,” the expert said.

“Political course of the new prime minister would mark visible difference from that of Imran's government. The new government will portray stability, maturity and long sightedness. The new government is supported by a seasoned political party in the form of Pakistan People’s Party which has veteran players who will guide the government on every single step,” he noted.

“New prime minister will build foreign policy on solid groundings of trust and longevity. Regarding the relations with Azerbaijan and also Turkey doesn’t affect with the change of Prime Minister or government as since decades it’s proven to be people to people relations and always smooth, cordial and brotherly with a slogan of 'Three Brothers.' Moreover, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was the first person who called and congratulated the newly elected Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, the 23rd Prime Minister of Pakistan. So, I believe and hopeful that the new government will take Pakistan and Azerbaijan's relations to new heights.”

Director-General and founder of the Youth Diplomacy Forum, expert Musawar Hameed Tanoli, in turn, also believes that the change of prime minister won’t affect cooperation with Azerbaijan in any way: “Pakistan’s relations with Azerbaijan will continue to strengthen. We have strong historical ties, as well as contacts between peoples. We consider the Azerbaijanis as our brothers as well as the Turks. I hope that under the new prime minister, relations between Pakistan and Azerbaijan will be further strengthened,” Tanoli said.

Khalid Taimur Akram, executive director of the Center for Global & Strategic Studies (CGSS) in Islamabad, said that the new prime minister and the coalition parties consider Azerbaijan a strong ally and friend.

“The brotherhood and friendship between Pakistan and Azerbaijan cannot be impacted by any change in government. The incumbent government’s party supports regional connectivity and strives for broader cooperation in diverse areas. Thus, Pakistan is optimistic about building strong ties with regional countries and providing new impetus to People-to-people contacts and joint collaboration with Azerbaijan. In future, it will stimulate Azerbaijan-Pakistan bilateral partnership and promote new avenues for joint ventures,” he noted.