A 4-member Senate delegation which is currently in Baku, led by Mir Jan Mohammad Jamali, Deputy Chairman Senate, met the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev in Baku and exchanged views on matters of mutual interests.
President Aliyev welcomed the delegation and highlighted the relations between Azerbaijan and Pakistan with special reference to Pakistan's support during Azerbaijan's conflicts with Armenia.
He thanked the delegation for adopting a unanimous resolution in support of Azerbaijan on Nagorno-Karbakh and Kojaly genocide by the Foreign Relations Committee of the Senate of Pakistan.
Jan Jamali, thanked the Azerbaijan President for meeting the delegation and expressed that the delegation was in Baku to show solidarity with the government and people of Azerbaijan.
He stressed the need of parliamentarians to parliamentarians and people to people contacts between the two countries to strengthen bilateral relations.
He also suggested that the two countries must explore the possibilities of youth and cultural exchange programs to understand each other.
Senator Salim Saifullah Khan, Chairman Foreign Relations Committee said that Pakistan has brotherly relations with Azerbaijan that should be transmitted to economic cooperation and development and support each other on various issues.
He said that Pakistan is playing a pivotal role in the war against terror. Pakistan has still 2.5 million Afghan refugees and has sacrificed security personnel and innocent civilians in this war.
He invited the Azerbaijan government to invest in energy sector of Pakistan because Pakistan is rich in oil and gas but the main problem in exploration is financial crunch.
President Aliyev assured the delegation that he will direct the concerned department and do our best to help out Pakistan in overcoming energy shortage.
Senator Haji Mohammad Adeel apprised the Azerbaijan President about the rich reservoirs of oil and gas in Pakistan particularly in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province and invited investors from Azerbaijan to invest in this sector.
Senator Haji Ghulam, who is also President of FPCCI, said Pakistan and Azerbaijan have very close brotherly relations and they need to promote and further strengthen relation in the business sector. He also drew attention of President Aliyev for joint ventures in business sector between the two countries.
President Ilham Aliyev said his government always supported Pakistan's stand on Kashmir issue. He stressed to strengthening Islamic organizations like OIC, since they need to play a significant role in the present circumstances.
He also referred to his recent meeting with Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani in Devos where they exchanged and discussed relations between Pakistan and Azerbaijan and also invited Prime Minister of Pakistan to visit Azerbaijan.
He thanked the delegates and once again appreciated the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for adoption of resolution in favour of Azerbaijan.