Status quo visit of Nawaz Sharif in Azerbaijan

Nawaz Sharif's visit to Azerbaijan has not brought anything new to the Azerbaijani-Pakistani relations, for example some real arrangements, primarily in the field of armaments, the purchase of which announced statement by the Minister of Defense Industry Yaver Jamalov.

After the demonstration of tactical missiles "Iskander" at the parade in Yerevan, the official Baku has made a number of loud statements about the readiness to buy foreign analogues of Russian weapons, particularly in Pakistan. However, no agreement on the purchase of Pakistani arms in Baku were signed, although when receiving the premier Sharif the President Ilham Aliyev talked about the promising cooperation in the field of defense between the two countries.

It is unlikely that at this stage Azerbaijan will buy from arms Pakistan for several reasons. Firstly, such statements were heard in previous years, but did not go ahead. Secondly, Pakistan produces obsolete samples of weapons, and mainly on Chinese technology, which is not the know-how. In this case, it would be more profitable for Baku to come up with proposals to the Chinese arms market, if it is really interested in such shipments. Third, the economic crisis and a threefold reduction of spending on defense arms is not the right moment, Fourth, Azerbaijan has to buy arms from Russia, which regularly imposes such decisions, and partly from Israel and Turkey.

The Azerbaijan-Pakistan relations, as history shows, mainly are focused on the interaction within international organizations on matters of mutual interest. These include mutual support of parties on unresolved conflicts - Nagorno-Karabakh and Kashmir. Both sides insist on the settlement of conflicts on the basis of UN resolutions. The UN Resolutions on Kashmir require a plebiscite in Kashmir, where more than 70% of the population is Muslims, and a settlement of the Karabakh problem within the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. There is also cooperation in the fight against international terrorism and other issues in the field of security and foreign policy.

As for the rest, in spite of declarative statements from the beginning of the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1991, and Pakistan was the second country after Turkey to recognize the independence of Azerbaijan in the field of economic, trade and other important relationships, the parties have not advanced a single step. In recent years, trade between the countries is kept within $3 million, and in no way commensurate with the political statements on strategic partnership and friendship.

The fact that the visit was still a matter of protocol, designed to emphasize the status quo in the bilateral relations, is evidenced by the fact that not any two-sided documents were signed during the visit.

The only that attracted the attention was the embarrassing moment , when at a meeting in an expanded format Nawaz Sharif said the phrase: "First of all, allow me to convey to you and the people of Azerbaijan my heartfelt congratulations and best wishes on the occasion of October 18 - National Day." Pakistani Prime Minister, who, like his country, appreciates the value of independence, did not know that by the order of the President of Azerbaijan the Independence Day value was announced an ordinary working day, and does not have such a high value. This is perhaps one of the issues of bilateral relations where views and values diverge.