Pakistan ambassador: Our main priority is to ensure stability, peace, and security in the region – INTERVIEW

Against the backdrop of expanding strategic partnership, regional cooperation, and growing mutual economic opportunities between Azerbaijan and Pakistan, The Daily Baku interviewed the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to Azerbaijan and Georgia, Qasim Mohiuddin.

– Your Excellency, Pakistan and Azerbaijan describe their ties as “brotherly” and strategically aligned. What are the concrete priorities for elevating this partnership in 2026 - particularly in trade, investment, and institutional mechanism - so that the political solidarity translates into measurable economic results?

– Our countries enjoy fraternal ties that are deeply rooted in a shared religion, culture, historical ties, mutual love and respect, and strategic alignment on almost all issues of regional and international importance.

During the past couple of years, we have seen an unprecedented engagement at the highest leadership level. These engagements have given a leadership-level direction to enhance our bilateral trade and further strengthen cooperation in all areas.

Several structured and formal high-level institutional mechanisms meet regularly. These include the Intergovernmental Commission and Bilateral Political Consultations. These mechanisms help to implement and holistically review the multifaceted increase in bilateral cooperation as envisioned by our leadership.

Resultingly, last year, there was a significant increase in our bilateral trade volume. Discussions on further enhancing cooperation in the energy sector are at an advanced stage.

Our people-to-people contacts are also growing day by day. Both Pakistan International Airlines and Azal operate almost daily direct flights. Another Pakistani private airline will be starting direct flights to Baku from next month. Due to this excellent connectivity, last year we had over eighty thousand tourists from Pakistan visit Azerbaijan. Pakistan also welcomed Azerbaijani tourists, mountaineers, cultural troupes, journalists, and think tank experts. The number of Pakistani students enrolled in prestigious Azerbaijani universities is also on the rise. Pakistan has one of the best healthcare facilities in the region. Our doctors are recognized the world over for their excellence. Therefore, we are also discussing several opportunities for medical tourism from Azerbaijan to Pakistan.

The current regional challenges also highlight the need and provide opportunities for our brotherly countries to rapidly enhance bilateral trade, undertake joint and mutually beneficial investments, and most importantly, improve connectivity.

– Energy cooperation has been highlighted as a key pillar, including LNG-related engagement between SOCAR and Pakistan. What practical steps are being discussed to make this cooperation more predictable and scalable, and could it expand into broader oil-and-gas infrastructure or downstream projects?

– You have correctly identified energy cooperation as one of the key pillars of cooperation between our countries. As I mentioned earlier, our experts are at an advanced stage of discussions on several important and large-scale projects.

I would like to add here that Azerbaijan has developed excellent energy transportation mechanisms, including an efficient and extensive network of energy pipelines. Pakistan looks forward to benefiting from Azerbaijan's expertise in this area. Pakistan, through the sea ports at Karachi and Gawadar, offers an excellent, efficient, and cost-effective option to partner with Azerbaijan for a strategically located energy hub for exporting Azerbaijan's energy commodities. The current regional situation highlights the need for secure and alternative energy corridors. This necessitates not just for economic reasons, but now it is also a national security requirement.

–  Defence and security cooperation has also advanced in recent years. From your perspective, what is the most realistic next stage - joint production, maintenance and training, or new procurement - and how can both sides ensure long-term sustainability of defence collaboration?

– Like all other sectors, our countries are also cooperating in all aspects of this important sector. Our bilateral cooperation is not for aggression against any country. As brotherly countries, our priority is to ensure regional stability, peace, and security.

Our defence forces also regularly participate in joint military exercises, which enhance interoperability and provide an opportunity to share best practices. Like all other key sectors, I am hopeful that our cooperation in this sector would also enhance and further strengthen in the years ahead.

–  On regional stability: Pakistan has consistently supported Azerbaijan’s just positions, while the South Caucasus is entering a new phase of normalization. How does Islamabad assess the prospects for a durable Azerbaijan–Armenia peace, and in what areas could Pakistan contribute diplomatically or economically without complicating regional balances?

– Pakistan, as one of Azerbaijan's sincerest and closest friends, always stood with Azerbaijan on the issue of Karabakh. We are happy that Azerbaijan, under the dynamic leadership of His Excellency President Ilham Aliyev, not only won the Karabakh War and ended decades of occupation of its rightful territories but also achieved peace with Armenia.

We firmly believe that durable peace is vital not only for the South Caucasus but also for broader regional stability within Central Asia and beyond. I am hopeful that the historic understanding reached between Azerbaijan and Armenia in Washington DC last year is just the beginning to lasting peace.

Peace and stability in this region would provide an excellent opportunity for further cooperation in connectivity, and trade & investment. With a population of 240 million, a growing economy, and investment-friendly government policies, Pakistan provides excellent trade and investment opportunities for all the regional countries. Our strategic geographic location, excellent communication and transportation infrastructure, and ideally located seaports in Karachi and Gawadar, provide the entire region excellent and efficient trade routes to the Middle East, East Asia, and beyond.