Astana, 12 October 2022 (TDI): Prime Minister of Pakistan, Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif met Ilham Aliyev, the President of Azerbaijan, on the sidelines of the 6th Summit of the Conference for Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA).
The two leaders reviewed the strong and warm bilateral ties for increased cooperation in the domains of commerce, investment, education, information technology, security, agriculture, connectivity, and energy
The Prime Minister also gave President Aliyev an update on his administration’s efforts to help Pakistan’s millions of flood victims and rebuild their lives after the terrible natural calamity brought on by climate change.
He emphasized that the possibility of a food crisis in the country had been increased by damage to standing crops and the inability to cultivate in the upcoming sowing season.
Urea import was necessary to stop this threat and restore agricultural output in the nation. President Aliyev extended complete support of Azerbaijan for Pakistan in this situation
Aside from that, regional and global problems of importance were also covered during the meeting. Shehbaz Sharif lauded Azerbaijan’s unwavering stance on Jammu and Kashmir and its crucial participation in the OIC Contact Group on Jammu and Kashmir.
He also highlighted Pakistan’s unequivocal support for Azerbaijan in the former Nagorno-Karabagh along with expressing gratitude for President Aliyev’s efforts to establish lasting peace in the South Caucasus.
Both leaders also reaffirmed their commitment to stepping up and deepening their bilateral cooperation in mutually advantageous areas.
Likewise, they assessed the development of numerous ongoing projects aimed at fostering connectivity, commerce, and investment.
The Prime Minister of Pakistan also underlined the need of promoting strong collaboration between the two nations in the domain of energy, which is a top priority for his administration.
Pakistan’s Minister of State for Petroleum, who recently paid a visit to Baku, has been designated by the Prime Minister as the main point of contact for bilateral energy cooperation between Pakistan and Azerbaijan.
Furthermore, the two sides concurred to move quickly through active participation in the discussions on energy cooperation between the two nations.
Prime Minister Sherbaz Sharif also appreciated the idea of leadership-level consultations in Islamabad to advance regional connectivity.
Following their previous meeting in September 2022 in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, on the fringes of the SCO, the two leaders’ second meeting provided a fruitful opportunity to spark a wide-ranging economic engagement between Pakistan and Azerbaijan.
6th CICA Summit
The sixth Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) conference will be hosted by Kazakhstan in Astana. The two-day conference will also mark the thirtieth anniversary of the intergovernmental organization.
The leaders from Palestine, Qatar, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Iran, Iraq, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Turkey, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan are attending the summit.
Among the other guests are Belarus’s President as well as the Vice Presidents from Vietnam and China. The agenda of the Summit is to deliberate on key issues pertaining to CICA’s objectives.
Along these lines, it will endeavor to resolve key issues pertaining to its internal mechanism and functioning along with taking into account the most pressing global issues, especially in the backdrop of the situation in Eurasia and the Middle East.
Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA)
CICA is a multinational organization with the objective of collaboration for stability, security, and peace throughout Asia.
It is based on the understanding that there is a close-knit connection between stability, peace, and security in Asia and the rest of the globe.
Nursultan Nazarbayev, the President of Kazakhstan, first suggested the concept of holding CICA on October 5, 1992, during the 47th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
The driving force behind this initiative was the need to establish an effective and acceptable system for ensuring peace and security in Asia.
CICA Member states are Azerbaijan, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Egypt, India, Iraq, Iran, Israel, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Pakistan, Palestine, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Russia, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkiye, UAE, and Uzbekistan.
The CICA Observer States are Belarus, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and the USA.
The Observer Organizations include the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the United Nations (UN), the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the League of Arab States (LAS), and the Parliamentary Assembly of Turkic States (TURKPA).
