Federal Minister for Communications Maulana Asad Mahmood has formed a task force to develop a legal framework for a road trade agreement with Azerbaijan.
The minister hosted a meeting of Azerbaijan’s seven-member delegation led by Minister for Digital Development and Transport Rashad Nabiyev to discuss road trade agreement and move towards a legal framework for trade.
Mahmood praised the delegation of Azerbaijan for coming to Pakistan and holding meetings with various ministries and officials to strengthen bilateral ties. Both Azerbaijan and Pakistan share the same agenda in terms of trade and commerce. He said that both countries could further strengthen the business and trade, as well as, public and cultural relations through land links and national highways.
Nabiyev apprised the minister that Azerbaijan has paved new roads for the promotion of trade and public transportation by laying its network of highways connecting up to Bandar Abbas, Iran. In response, Mahmood expressed Pakistan’s desire to expand land connection to Iran, Azerbaijan, Russia, and Eastern Europe to boost the economy of regional countries and raise the living standards of the people.
During the meeting, a task force was formed to develop a legal framework for a road trade agreement, the Federal Secretary Communications and NHA Chairman Captain (Retd) Muhammad Khurram Agha will be the focal person on behalf of Pakistan.
The communications minister said that a road trade agreement will help in furthering bilateral ties to new heights. He also told the delegation that the government is expanding its land routes to nearby countries by laying a vast network of important national highways in Balochistan.
Nabiyev emphasized that coordination between the two countries in terms of roads and transport is a guarantee of economic development throughout the region. Azerbaijan has heavily invested in road infrastructure, railways, and airports in some of its newly developed land areas, he said that Pakistan may benefit by using Azerbaijan as a transit route to the West.
Source: Pro Pakistani