By Aamir Latif

KARACHI, Pakistan (AA) - Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif began his maiden visit to Azerbaijan with a meeting with President Ilham Aliyev at the Presidential Palace on Thursday, state-run Pakistan Television reported.

The two leaders discussed ways of enhancing cooperation between the two countries in a variety of fields, including security, trade, business, and energy.

Earlier, Sharif was presented a guard-of-honor upon his arrival at the Presidential Palace.

Sharif, who arrived in Baku on late Wednesday on a two-day visit, visited the tomb of the founder of modern and independent Azerbaijani state Heydar Aliyev.

He laid a wreath at the tomb and paid tribute to Aliyev.

Sharif's elder brother, Nawaz Sharif was the last Pakistani Prime Minister to visit Baku in 2016. In 2019, President Arif Alvi also visited Azerbaijan.

- Increasing cooperation

Diplomatic relations between Pakistan and Azerbaijan were established in 1992.

The two countries have increased trade and security cooperation in recent years, with Islamabad backing Baku over its longstanding Karabakh dispute with Armenia.

Pakistan has no diplomatic relations with Armenia because of the Karabakh issue.

In return, Baku supports Islamabad on the lingering Kashmir dispute.

The two countries have increased trade and security cooperation in recent years.

Sharif's visit comes on the heels of a crucial energy agreement signed earlier this week between the two sides to meet Islamabad's growing energy demands.

Pakistan's Petroleum Minister Musadik Malik said Tuesday that Baku will supply an LNG cargo every month to Pakistan at a “cheaper price.”

He, however, did not divulge further details.

Running short of foreign reserves, Islamabad has been struggling to procure LNG following a spike in global prices since the beginning of Russia-Ukraine war last year.