Baku, February 11, AZERTAC

An influential think tank of Pakistan, the Center for Global and Strategic Studies (CGSS), has affirmed keenness to begin partnership on exchange of information with AZERTAC as a delegation led by the Center’s Executive Director Khalid Taimur Akram met with the news agency’s Chairman of Board Aslan Aslanov.

They discussed the aspects and importance of establishing cooperation between the Center and AZERTAC.

Aslan Aslanov highlighted the history of Azerbaijan-Pakistan relations. He hailed the fact that Pakistan was one of the first countries to recognize Azerbaijan’s independence. Aslan Aslanov said great leader Heydar Aliyev made outstanding contribution to the expansion of cooperation between the two countries. He emphasized that President Ilham Aliyev also attached great importance to the development of relations with Pakistan.

Taimur Akram welcomed humanitarian projects implemented in Pakistan by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation.

They also discussed the parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan, the effectiveness of cooperation between the media and expert communities, the continued mutual support between the two friendly and brotherly countries on the international arena, as well as prospects for joint activities in the information area.

“The traditions of democratic elections in Azerbaijan were established in 1918 by the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic which are currently being continued and enriched in the independent Azerbaijan. We have seen great interest the Pakistani experts and journalists had shown in the elections. Embracing friendly relations between our countries and peoples, AZERTAC attaches importance to maintaining cooperation in the field of information with Pakistan. We do cooperate with a number of Pakistani news agencies, and establishing relationships with think tanks is also one of the areas we focus on," Aslan Aslanov mentioned.

Noting that they mainly refer to AZERTAC while preparing materials about Azerbaijan, Taimur Akram said: “I think that the two media agencies should get information from the first source, that is, from each other. Third-party reports about our countries are usually far from being objective. Therefore, it is better to use the official sources of each country. We would like to sign a partnership agreement with AZERTAC which we believe will give us more opportunities for exchanging information.”

The importance of exchange of information under the Belt and Road Economic Information Partnership (BREIP) project of China’s Xinhua news agency was highlighted at the meeting. Noting that he is a member of the Executive Board of the Organization, Taimur Akram expressed their interest in working closely with the media outlets under the project. AZERTAC is a founding member of this Organization, which brings together more than one hundred international media organizations and think tanks.

Board Member of the Center Mahmud Hasan Khan, Professor at the School of Politics and International Relations Zafar Nawaz Jaspal emphasized the importance of establishing groups of researchers from both countries and working together with experts to fight against the spread of biased opinions about the two countries.