Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Pakistan on Thursday (today) on a two-day visit at the invitation of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. He was given a 21-gun salute after landing in Islamabad.

PM Shehbaz welcomed him at the Nur Khan Airbase. Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and Information Minister Attaullah Tarar were also present on the occasion. Upon his arrival, two children gave him a flower bouquet.

The Azeri president’s body was positive, according to analyst Shaukat Piracha.

President Aliyev would hold meetings with President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif during the visit from July 11 to July 12, said a Foreign Office press release.

The two sides would engage in “wide-ranging discussions” on areas of mutual interest in order to further strengthen bilateral cooperation. Several agreements and MoUs are expected to be signed during the visit.

“The visit of the Azeri President reflects the robust cooperation and leadership-level dialogue between the two countries.”

At the inaugural session of the Pakistan-Turkiye-Azerbaijan Trilateral Summit held on the sidelines of the SCO Summit last week, PM Shehbaz proposed to establish tripartite institutional mechanisms, particularly in economic and investment areas, to strengthen Pakistan-Turkiye-Azerbaijan economic and commercial cooperation.

He underscored that Pakistan valued its fraternal ties with the two above mentioned countries which were grounded in “deep-rooted cultural, historic and religious bonds as well as mutual respect and support towards each other on core issues.”

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The summit was attended by PM Shehbaz, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Heydar Aliyev.

In April this year, the first direct flight of Azerbaijan Airlines from Baku landed at Karachi airport. It carried around 90 passengers.