Maryam’s visit to Azerbaijan: Punjab Govt appreciated at World Forum

Pakistan s relations with Azerbaijan are not new; rather, the foundation of these strong ties was laid during Nawaz Sharif s first tenure as Prime Minister, when Heydar Aliyev was President of Azerbaijan and the father of the current President, Ilham Aliyev. Today, this legacy is being carried forward by Nawaz Sharif s daughter, Maryam Nawaz Sharif, and Heydar Aliyev s son, Ilham Aliyev. Before beginning my discussion, I would like to share some important facts about Azerbaijan s national leader and founder, Heydar Aliyev. Most Pakistanis are unfamiliar with Pakistan s relations with Central Asian countries. Pakistan established ties with Azerbaijan in the 1990s, when Nawaz Sharif was elected Prime Minister of Pakistan for the first time. Azerbaijan s national leader and founder, Heydar Aliyev, was a visionary statesman. He led the country for nearly three decades. Initially, he governed Soviet Azerbaijan from 1969 to 1982 and later became the President of independent Azerbaijan. At the time of the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Azerbaijan faced severe political and economic crises. During this period of instability, the people of Azerbaijan turned to Heydar Aliyev as a leader. He was elected Speaker of Parliament in June 1993 and later became President of Azerbaijan in October 1993. He served as President until his death in 2003. Heydar Aliyev restored peace in Azerbaijan and strengthened the national economy through agreements with foreign companies. Owing to his successful foreign policy, Azerbaijan emerged as an important country on the global stage. There existed a long-standing personal and diplomatic friendship between Nawaz Sharif and Azerbaijan s founding President Heydar Aliyev, established in the early 1990s. This close relationship became a milestone in fostering brotherly and strategic ties between the two countries. Even today, these relations are regarded as a strong diplomatic and cultural asset between Pakistan and Azerbaijan, a fact repea