Today, Prime Minister of Pakistan Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif has arrived in Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan, from Baku where he was on an official visit from February 23 to 25.
On Monday, February 24, a meeting took place between the leaders of Azerbaijan and Pakistan in a narrow format, followed by President Aliyev and Prime Minister Sharif leading their delegations in an expanded-format meeting.
Following the visit of the Prime Minister of Pakistan to Baku, a memorandum was signed to strengthen bilateral cooperation between the Baku Stock Exchange (BSE) and the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX). The MoU aims to strengthen cooperation between the capital markets of Pakistan and Azerbaijan, as well as to foster development in the financial sector in both countries.
Following the talks, the President of Azerbaijan and the Prime Minister of Pakistan made press statements.
As noted by President Ilham Aliyev, a substantial part of the discussions was devoted to the trade and economic sector, with both sides expressing regret that the trade turnover was only several tens of millions of U.S. dollars. The situation will be addressed with Azerbaijan’s plans to invest up to two billion U.S. dollars in Pakistan's economy. A few months ago, we received specific projects from the Pakistani side, and Azerbaijani representatives are currently evaluating them.
A realistic goal has been set today to complete all discussions within a month and prepare the documents for signing by the beginning of April. These projects cover infrastructure development areas, energy, mining, and possibly some other sectors.
The total number of agreements signed during the Prime Minister's visit exceeds 10, and they will indeed create a solid foundation for future cooperation. With our investment plans, I'm sure we will also witness an increase in our trade turnover, the head of state said.
Today, among the issues which we discussed, an important part was devoted to cooperation in the defense area, including in the area of the defense industry.
Another important sector we discussed is connectivity and transportation. “I informed Mr. Prime Minister about our plans, about the contracts and agreements we signed in order to increase the capacity of Azerbaijan's transportation infrastructure, which is an integral part of international transportation corridors. Azerbaijan actively participates in both the North-South and East-West corridors. This is, of course, an important element of connectivity and transportation, economic development, and also political stability. Because when countries, which are situated close to each other, are involved in this kind of multinational cooperation format, of course, the situation becomes more predictable in our regions. That is also an important factor for regional stability”, Ilham Aliyev noted.
Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif stated that business, trade, and investment relations between the two countries do not reflect the true strength of the ties between the two nations. According to him, the MoUs and agreements signed on February 24 will continue to advance the relations to a higher level. SOCAR and its Pakistani partner extended the LNG supply agreement for another two years, with a trading company established. The Prime Minister of Pakistan particularly emphasized the international infrastructure corridor project, which is the need of the hour, and the port of Gwadar as a destination for imports and exports.
The delegations agreed to meet to discuss a new infrastructure project in the transportation sector. An agreement was also reached regarding Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif’s visit to Azerbaijan in the summer of 2025.
In February 2021, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, and Pakistan signed a roadmap in Tashkent for the construction of the "Termez - Mazar-i-Sharif - Kabul - Peshawar" railway. The project was initially planned to be prepared in May and the construction works were scheduled to commence in September 2021. But the change of power in Afghanistan slowed it down. Nevertheless, in December, the caretaker government of Afghanistan joined it. On July 18, 2022, expeditionary work began in Afghanistan to determine the route of the Trans-Afghan Railway and the feasibility study of the project.
Uzbekistan's "BOSHTRANSLOYIHA" institute estimated the railway construction cost at $4.6 billion, while Pakistan assessed it at $8.2 billion. According to media reports, the project's cost is estimated to range between $4.8 billion and $6 billion. The railway is expected to span 573 km and have a freight capacity of up to 20 million tons per year.
The new transport corridor aims to connect the European Union, Russia, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, and subsequently the countries of Southeast Asia.
In early February 2025, President of Uzbekistan, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, reviewed the report on the completed work on the Trans-Afghan Railway. Transport Minister Ilkhom Makhkamov told Uzbekistan 24 TV that the project implied extending the 80-kilometer section through Afghanistan to reach the ports of Pakistan and Iran.
The head of state was provided with information about the selected route and the cooperation with the project’s donors. “If at the end of last year, construction work was launched on the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway project, then this year the Trans-Afghan Railway project is also scheduled to commence”, Minister of Uzbekistan noted.
