ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Azerbaijan to hold third round of Bilateral Political Consultations (BPCs) on May 30-June 1, 2023 in Baku, to be attended by Pakistan’s Foreign Secretary, official sources told Business Recorder. Both sides will review implementation status of decisions taken during the last PBC meeting and JMC-activation of Working Groups, the sources added.
On bilateral relations, both sides, sources said, will discuss possibilities of high-level visit like prime ministers and foreign ministers, status of pending memorandums of understanding (MoUs)/ agreements, in addition to briefing on Kashmir and Karabakh respectively.
The sources said, issues of trade and economy are also part of agenda which are as follows:
(i) review on decisions of Working Group on Trade;(ii) Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA);(iii) tariff-free access to Pakistani rice;(iv) Transit Trade Agreement (TTA);(v) scope of more trade in agriculture produce including fruits and vegetables ad ;(vi) exchange of business delegation and participation in fair and exhibitions in respective countries.
For connectivity between both countries, possibility of operations of airlines and land, will also be considered.
On energy, follow up on the outcomes during the visit of Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Resources, Joint Working Group on Energy and PSO-SOCAR talks are also on the agenda of talks.
The sources said, regional issues, like Iran, Russia, Turkey, Afghanistan, China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), trilateral mechanism of engagement and security will also be discussed during talks. On education and cultural cooperation, both sides will discuss the following issues:
(i) cooperation between ADA and FCA-announcement of the MoU; (ii) AIDA-sponsored language course for one junior diplomat- announcement during the talks; (iii) language exchange programme for one Azerbaijani diplomat at National University of Modern Language (NUML); (iv) general student exchange program/ scholarship exchange; (v) accreditation of Azerbaijani universities in Pakistan;(vi) sister cities-agreement on cultural cooperation and ;(vii) airing Pakistani dramas on popular Azerbaijani channels. Both sides will also discuss issues related to tourism and specialised tourism to Northern areas from Azerbaijan.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023
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