Pakistani president embarks on four-day visit to Azerbaijan

Pakistani President Mamnoon Hussain embarked on four-day state visit to Azerbaijan on Wednesday for talks on bilateral matters, focusing on economic cooperation, officials said.

A delegation of businessmen representing leading companies of Pakistan in the field of energy, textile, pharmaceutical, sports, infrastructure, construction material, surgical instruments, food products and leather goods are accompanying the president.

Four agreements and memorandum of understanding will be signed during the visit, the Foreign Ministry said.

On the sidelines of the visit, a trade and investment seminar will be held.

During the visit, presidents of the two countries will hold a tete-a-tete that would be followed by delegation-level talks, a Foreign Ministry statement said.

The main focus of the meeting would be to review bilateral relations, including economy, trade and commerce, education, defence, science and technology, culture and exchange of views on regional and international issues of mutual concern, the statement said.

President Mamnoon Hussain will also confer Pakistan's highest civil award of "Hilal-e-Pakistan" upon the First Lady of Azerbaijan, Madam Mehriban Aliyeva, in recognition of her services to the people of Pakistan and continuous humanitarian work, spanning over a decade, by her organization "Hyder Aliyev Foundation" in Pakistan-administered Kashmir and other parts of Pakistan.

"The visit of President Mamnoon Hussain will provide an opportunity for further strengthening of bilateral cooperation between the two countries," the Foreign Ministry said.

Pakistan Ambassador to Azerbaijan Khalid Usman Qaiser said the visit would help transform the existing friendly ties between the two countries into an economic partnership.

He said there are bright prospects of cooperation between the two countries in areas of energy, textile, human resources development and defence, state radio reported on Wednesday. Endi