By Asim Hussain
ISLAMABAD: To commemorate the 30-year diplomatic relations between Pakistan and Azerbaijan, a seminar on mutual relations including educational and socio-cultural perspectives was organized here on Wednesday by the MUSLIM Institute.
The seminar marked the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Pakistan and Azerbaijan.
A special cake was cut to celebrate the 30th anniversary of relations. Former Prime Minister of Azerbaijan Novruz Mammadov, Ambassador of Azerbaijan to Pakistan Khazar Farhadov, Brigadier (r) Abdul Rahman Bilal, Member of Parliament of Azerbaijan Ms. Tamam Jafarova, Associate Professor of NUML University Islamabad Dr. Sarwat Rauf, Promramme Manager MUSLIM Institute Ahmad Raza and Public Relations Coordinator MUSLIM Institute Advocate Asif Tanvir Awan were speakers on the occasion.
Speakers noted that Pakistan was the second country that recognized the Independence of Azerbaijan back in 1991 and thereafter diplomatic relations were established between both states in 1992. Pakistan was one of the first counties to open its Embassy in Baku. Novruz Mammadov said that both the countries have strong relations since then. Azerbaijan supports Pakistan’s stand on the Kashmir Issue and Pakistan supports Azerbaijan’s stance on the Nagorno Karabakh Issue, he added. Ambassador of Azerbaijan to Pakistan Khazar Farhadov that Pakistan has not yet recognized Armenia because of its aggression against the Azerbaijani people.
The similarities and bond between the people of both countries have shaped various levels of cooperation and association at the societal level, he said. Brigadier (r) Abdul Rahman Bilal said that the emerging people-to-people contacts have resulted in a unique feature of cooperative bilateralism.
Member of Parliament of Azerbaijan Tamam Jafarova said that the leadership on both sides is fully cognizant of the importance of these relations with each other. Pakistan and Azerbaijan share common concerns over sectarianism, extremism, and terrorism. Associate Professor of NUML University Islamabad Dr. Sarwat Rauf said that both Pakistan and Azerbaijan have worked together on the issues faced by Muslim Ummah such as Islamophobia.
Speakers emphasized that here is a need to further strengthen the bilateral relations by cooperating at the regional and international levels and promoting bilateral cooperation in other fields including people-to-people contact, tourism, trade, and military and education.
