It was heartening to find Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif and his entourage among the leadership of two brotherly countries, Azerbaijan and Türkiye, in Lachin, Azerbaijan, where they had gathered to forge the natural, historical, and ideological bond that the three enjoy. Pakistan’s PM visited the Republic of Azerbaijan from May 24 to 25, 2025, on the invitation of Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev, who enjoys a special place in the hearts of all Pakistanis. The energy radiated during the meeting between both leaders was reflective of how close the two nations have been for a long time. It was an important epoch at which the meeting was held, as it followed a recent armed conflict between Pakistan and its archrival India, during which Azerbaijan extended its resolute support to Pakistan. Prime Minister Shahbaz was therefore obliged to convey heartfelt gratitude on behalf of all Pakistanis to President Aliyev and the people of Azerbaijan.
As mentioned, Turkish President Erdogan also joined the trilateral summit, having remained staunchly behind Pakistan during this entire saga that India orchestrated. PM Shahbaz also extended gratitude to him and the Turkish nation for being the mainstay of Pakistanis’ high morale. The three leaders discussed the way forward to forge better economic relations, but their presence also conveyed internationally the reverberations in the shared thoughts of promoting regionalism, where like-minded countries can share a platform to maintain peace, regional cooperation, and come forward to resolve disputes. The world is witnessing the fracturing of the old order where unipolarity was once desired and worked for. Bloc politics have re-emerged as the new norm, which seems automatic and natural given the prevailing chaos. Pakistan’s bonding with countries like Azerbaijan and Türkiye is on two accounts: they lie in the same region and bear similar ideologies that bind them together no matter the circumstances. Pakistan has always supported both of them in their troubled times, and they have been ardent supporters of Pakistan’s stance on Kashmir.
This trilateral summit held in Lachin was a historical spectacle as the three nations—Pakistan, Azerbaijan, and Türkiye—reiterated their mutual support on long-standing regional disputes including Kashmir, Karabakh, and Northern Cyprus, and preferred peace over conflict. It is comforting for Pakistan that countries like Azerbaijan and Türkiye are always there to support it when badly needed.
The affinity between Pakistan and Azerbaijan is deep-rooted, especially among the people of both countries. It is amazing that despite cultural, linguistic, historical, and spatial displacements, people from both sides find it truly accommodating to interact with each other with positive vibes. Azerbaijan is a progressive country that is investing in developmental projects of infrastructure, energy, and emerging technologies that may be suitable for Pakistanis not only as workers but also as supervisors, since expertise is available in these fields in abundance. The natural bonding between the people, despite the language barrier, spearheads any mutual collaboration, and this is the most prudent sign for furthering cooperation. It is therefore incumbent to forge more people-to-people contact and public diplomacy, which must form part of the agenda of any high-level talks between the two countries. During the current engagement, political leadership from both sides stressed business-level interactions among delegates, which is indeed a good sign, as some semblance of public diplomacy will be fulfilled through these. However, there is a dire need for widespread interaction between people associated with arts and culture from both sides, as understanding culture brings clarity on each other’s thought processes. More importantly, there is a need for increased interaction between academia and think tanks, whereby convergences for cooperation are naturally found during the exchange of valuable ideas and sharing of perspectives.
The incumbent ambassadors from each side seem to be working hard towards this goal. Islamabad and Baku have been declared sister cities, and a food street in Islamabad is being renovated under the auspices of Azerbaijan’s government, for which credit goes to His Excellency Khazar Farhadov, the Ambassador of the Republic of Azerbaijan to Pakistan. Pakistan’s ambassador to Azerbaijan and Georgia, His Excellency Qasim Mohiuddin, is likewise making strides to better relations. As a result, many Pakistani students today are studying in universities of Azerbaijan, and various high-level visits are taking place.
Pakistan emerged victorious during the conflict with India in the first 10 days of May 2025. The latest technology that India had acquired from leading manufacturers around the world even failed to resist destruction from Pakistan’s armed forces. This has underscored the military dominance that Pakistan achieved during this conflict, which is beneficial for a brotherly country like Azerbaijan. There is already a fair amount of military collaboration between the two sides, yet following this conflict, the degree of cooperation is expected to grow. During PM Shahbaz Sharif’s visit, Field Marshal Asim Munir also accompanied him, and matters pertaining to the military must have been on the table. Training an enhanced number of Azerbaijani armed forces personnel—especially officers—in Pakistan’s armed forces institutions is another viable avenue both countries might be exploring.
The current geopolitical milieu is marred by major power rivalries, and Asia is one hotbed in this situation. Pakistan and Azerbaijan both lie in the same region and are affected by this rivalry, which is growing day by day. Bloc politics are a natural phenomenon emerging in this context, which is bringing countries that are aligned by multiple factors closer to each other. Their close cooperation, in fact, results in coordinated efforts to promote regional stability, mutual prosperity, and principled positions on international issues. This affords shielding against threats from countries like Armenia and India, which Azerbaijan and Pakistan face existentially, respectively. Countries that work to establish their hegemony in their respective regions are like decelerating forces that are not interested in the progress of a region, but only themselves. This often brings them into conflict situations, inflicting damage on the overall development of the region.
Reema Shaukat. The writer works with an Islamabad-based think tank and was a visiting Research Fellow at the AIR Center-Baku, Azerbaijan.
