ISLAMABAD: Pakistan, Turkey and Azerbaijan on Wednesday resolved to enhance cooperation in various fields to support each other on all issues involving the three countries’ national interests.
The resolve was reached between the foreign ministers of the three nations at the second Pakistan-Turkey-Azerbaijan trilateral meeting, hosted by Islamabad on Wednesday, as per the FO statement.
Speaking at a joint press conference after the meeting Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi reiterated the brotherly relations of Pakistan with Turkey and Azerbaijan, saying the three countries had agreed to boost cooperation amongst them.
Qureshi informed that the ministers had exchanged views on trade, investment, people-to-people relations, security and other subjects. They also discussed how to deal with common challenges such as the coronavirus pandemic and Islamophobia, as well as human rights violations against Muslim minorities across the region.
The people of Pakistan and Kashmiris remained “profoundly grateful” to Turkey and Azerbaijan for their “principled and steadfast support” on the Jammu and Kashmir dispute, the foreign minister added.
Qureshi said he had informed the ministers about the evolving situation in Indian-occupied Kashmir, including the prolonged military siege and “deliberate, unilateral and illegal actions” to make demographic changes in the valley.
Pakistan’s resolute support for efforts towards a comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus issue on the basis of “political equality of the two communities,” Qureshi reiterated. He said Pakistan had consistently called for the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in accordance with UN Security Council resolutions.
Qureshi said the meeting had decided that “all regional and global issues must be resolved through dialogue and peaceful means within the framework of international law.”
On this occasion, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov thanked Pakistan and Turkey for supporting Baku during the second Karabakh war and for condemning “Armenian occupation and war crimes”.
He informed Azerbaijan raised concerns in the international arena to restore justice and we highly appreciate this principled position by Turkey and Pakistan.
Bayramov said the three nations shared very strong bonds, the most significant of which was a common vision and a solid foundation for growing cooperation.” They believe in strong cooperation on the sovereign policy. We condemn aggression and terrorism, and reject Islamophobia,” he added.
Noting that the three countries are located on ancient trade routes, the Azerbaijani Foreign Minister said cooperation between them will create jobs and contribute to raising the quality of life.
In his remarks, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said he was very satisfied to visit “brother Pakistan once again”, and thanked FM Qureshi for organizing a successful trilateral meeting. He said Pakistan has a unique place in their hearts and we support each other in difficult times and the help during the pandemic is an example.
The Turkish minister noted that the trade volume between Pakistan and Turkey was around $800 billion. Obviously, it doesn’t reflect the proper potential of both the countries so we want to bring dynamism in our economic cooperation,” he added.
It is worth mentioning here the Turkish foreign minister had arrived in Pakistan on Tuesday night while the Azeri minister landed today. The first trilateral meeting between the three countries was held in Baku in 2017.
