Pakistani Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif is likely to visit the Republic of Azerbaijan to represent his country in the upcoming COP29 summit to be held in capital Baku.

The President of the Republic of Azerbaijan had already invited the Pakistani Prime Minister to visit Baku for the COP29 summit conference scheduled for November 13-15. The United Nations Climate Change Conference commonly known as COP29 will be held from 11 to 22 November.

The Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources of the Republic of Azerbaijan and President designate of COP29 Mukhtar Babayev during his visit to Islamabad in May this year met Pakistani Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif and handed over an invitation to him from President Ilham Aliyev to participate in the COP29.

Pakistan is one of the most vulnerable countries that has borne the adverse impact of climate change in recent years. Despite contributing less than 1% to global carbon emissions; Pakistan has faced severe consequences from climate disasters in recent years including the super flood of 2022 that caused billions of dollars in damage to the country.

At that time the Pakistani PM while accepting the invitation had said that he looked forward to participating in COP29 which would also give him an opportunity to have a detailed discussion with the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

It is worth mentioning that the diplomatic relations between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan were established on June 9, 1992. Following the independence of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Pakistan was the second country to recognize it. During over three decades, the bilateral relations between the two countries have steadily grown and both are now considered strategic partners.