Pakistan and Azerbaijan have reiterated their commitment to enhancing collaboration in the areas of trade, energy, air connectivity, and people-to-people contacts. This was discussed during a meeting between President Asif Ali Zardari and the visiting Minister of Defence Industry of Azerbaijan, Vugar Mustafayev, who along with his delegation called on him, at Aiwan-e-Sadr on Thursday. Welcoming the visiting Minister, the President highlighted the historic and deep-rooted relations between Pakistan and Azerbaijan. He urged the need to increase people-to-people contacts, tourism links, and trade and business relations to promote regional economic cooperation. The President called for finding ways and means to strengthen cultural linkages and further boost people-to-people exchanges. He welcomed the operationalization of direct flights between Pakistan and Azerbaijan, expressing the hope that it would further boost people-to-people ties. Over 72,000 Pakistanis have visited Azerbaijan in 2024 for business and tourism purposes, marking a 25% increase from the previous year’s figure of 55,000 travellers. The Minister highlighted the deep-rooted ties between the two countries, saying that Azerbaijan was keen on further enhancing bilateral cooperation with Pakistan in the fields of energy, business, and culture. He said that both nations had supported each other through challenging times and expressed gratitude for Pakistan’s political support to Azerbaijan which, he said, would always be remembered by the people of Azerbaijan. The Minister of Defence Industry of Azerbaijan thanked the President for his warm welcome and conveyed the sincere wishes of the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, for the good health of the President and the continued success, peace and prosperity of Pakistan.