MEETING AT DEFENSE MINISTRY
A Guard of Honor of the Azerbaijan Armed Forces was lined up in honor of the guest. Commander of the Guard of Honor reported to General Mohammad Aziz Khan.
State anthems of Azerbaijan and Pakistan were performed.
Later on, a meeting of Azerbaijan Minister of Defense Colonel-General Safar Abiyev with Mohammad Aziz Khan and accompanied delegation took place.
Noting that relations between the two countries were established after declaration of Azerbaijan’s sovereignty, and that Pakistan was the first state to recognize Azerbaijan’s independence, the Minister stressed that the official visit by nationwide leader of Azerbaijan Heydar Aliyev to Pakistan had given powerful impetus to development of the interrelations. After the official visit of President Pervez Musharraf to Azerbaijan and his meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, a new era in bilateral relations has begun, General-Colonel Safar Abiyev said.
He also noted that the two governments had signed the “Agreement on Defense and Military Cooperation”, which, according to him, is now being successfully developed.
Having thanked the Minister for the meeting and hospitality, General Mohammad Aziz Khan touched on the friendly ties existing between the peoples of Azerbaijan and Pakistan. He said the President Musharraf’s recent visit to Azerbaijan had given new impetus to these relations. Providing the Defense Minister with detailed information on the political and military situation in the South Asia, he stated that the people of Pakistan are grateful to the people of Azerbaijan for the support in Kashmir issue. The people of Pakistani have always supported and will support the Azerbaijan’ stance as for the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict.
General-Colonel Safar Abiyev exchanged views with General Mohammad Aziz Khan on the situation in the Southern Caucasus, and stressed with regret that activity of the OSCE Minsk Group on settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh had not brought any results. He added, however, that the possibilities of dialogue for resolution of the conflict had not yet been exhausted.
We so far prefer peaceful way but should we feel these possibilities are exausted, we will resort to all methods to release our lands from the Armenian occupation, he stated.
The parties held an exchange of vies on a wide range of issues related to prospects of cooperation between the two states in military sphere.
General Mohammad Aziz Khan invited a delegation of the Azerbaijan Defense Ministry to participate in the international defense exhibition to be open soon in Pakistan. The invitation has been accepted with satisfaction.
The meeting was attended by Ambassador of Azerbaijan in Islamabad Eynulla Madatli and Ambassador of Pakistan in Baku Mohammad Hafiz.
Other news in this section
