Pakistan desires good relations with all its neighbors: President

ISLAMABAD: President Dr. Arif Alvi on Friday said that Pakistan was a peaceful and sovereign country, desirous of having good relations with all its neighbors.

He further stated that Pakistan believed in dialogue with all countries including India on all matters of mutual interest, but not at the cost of its territorial integrity.

He noted that they would like all friendly countries to urge India to engage with Pakistan for peaceful resolution of Jammu and Kashmir dispute in accordance with the UNSC resolutions.

The president said while talking to Minister of Defense of Azerbaijan, Colonel General Hasanov Zakir Asgar Oglu, who was called on him here.  He noted that Pakistan highly valued its brotherly relations with Azerbaijan.

He highlighted the tremendous bilateral goodwill and appreciated the participation of President Ilham Aliyev’s in the 13th ECO Summit held on 1st March 2017 in Islamabad.

He also appreciated Azerbaijan’s support to Pakistan’s candidature for the membership of OIC’s Independent Permanent Human Rights Commissioner (IPHRC). Furthermore, he appreciated Azerbaijan’s continued support on Jammu and Kashmir.

The president said that the present state of their bilateral economic cooperation was not commensurate with the true potential and there was a need to enhance the volume of their bilateral trade.

He highlighted the need to explore possibilities of cooperation and trade in agriculture, manufacturing, services sector, ready-made garments, cotton products, engineering goods, consumer goods, pharmaceuticals, rice, textile, fabrics, sports goods, surgical instruments and tents.

He underlined that the liberalization of visa regime by Pakistan will increase the number of tourists and businessmen from Azerbaijan.

The president highlighted the potential for defense cooperation between the two countries. He noted that Pakistan has heavily invested in installing effective border controls while facilitating legitimate travel of common people on Pak-Afghan border.

He also underscored that the whole region needs to play its role in reconstruction and rebuilding of Afghanistan.

The Defense Minister of Azerbaijan said that the bilateral relations of Pakistan and Azerbaijan were marked by continuity and that the two brotherly countries have always stood by each other.

He also highlighted that the frequent military trainings between the armed forces of the two nations have served as an immense source of learning.

The president expressed immense pleasure to see brothers from Azerbaijan participate in the Pakistan Day’s celebrations. He also extended invitation to President Ilham Aliyev to visit Pakistan at his convenience.