Pakistan turns to old allies Turkey and Azerbaijan as Subianto’s shelves Islamabad visit

Pakistan is going an extra mile to court its traditional allies Turkey and Azerbaijan, in what could be seen as an effort to strengthen its position in South Asia after the Indonesian President’s acceptance of India’s Republic Day invite pushed his Islamabad visit plan into limbo.Last week, Azerbaijan’s Minister of Defence Industry, Vugar Mustafayev, visited Islamabad to explore defence industry cooperation. ET has learnt that both Baku and Islamabad are seeking to expand defence partnership beyond joint exercises.

In a reciprocal move, Major General Abdullah Kashif, Director General of Military Operations of the Pakistan Armed Forces, visited Baku to discuss expansion in partnership.

Pakistani Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif met with Mustafayev and both sides reaffirmed their shared commitment to strengthening and diversifying relations between Pakistan and Azerbaijan, according to reports in the Azerbaijani media.

Mustafayev was visiting Islamabad to co-chair the 8th Session of the Joint Ministerial Commission between the two nations, held on January 23-24.

During Gen Kashif’s visit to Baku, the two sides signed the “Instructions for Conducting Staff Talks” between the Land Forces of Azerbaijan and Pakistan to enhance coordination and decided to expedite the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for establishing an Advanced Electronic Data Interchange between Azerbaijan’s State Customs Committee and Pakistan Customs Service, ET has learnt.The two sides also decided to have an agreement to accelerate the signing of an MoU for joint production and sales of defence equipment.Last year, Pakistan and Azerbaijan had finalised a JF-17 fighter jet deal. Pakistan also wants to invite Azerbaijan to participate in energy infrastructure projects, such as the White Oil Pipeline.

Later next month, Turkey’s President is set to make an official visit to Pakistan. All eyes will be on Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s position on Kashmir, as he has been publicly diluting Turkey’s stance of supporting Pakistan’s narrative on Kashmir, which some analysts say could signal Turkey’s strategy for getting a bigger market share in India. Last year Turkey received India’s support for its inclusion in the BRICS partner mechanism. In South Asia, Turkey is also keen on expanding its footprint in Bangladesh and Maldives.