PM Shehbaz departs for Baku as Islamabad eyes LNG cargoes

• PM's visit comes as Pakistan aims to get LNG from Baku.
  
• Premier to hold wide-ranging talks with the Azerbaijani president.
• PM Shehbaz's entourage would also include relevant ministers.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, on the invitation of President Ilham Aliyev, has left for Azerbaijan on a two-day official visit on Wednesday as Islamabad aims to obtain spot liquefied natural gas (LNG) deliveries from Baku.

The prime minister's delegation would also include ministers representing the priority areas of cooperation with Azerbaijan.

During his visit, the premier will hold wide-ranging talks with the Azerbaijani president on key areas of cooperation, including trade, investment, and energy.

Meanwhile, regional and global issues of mutual concern and cooperation in multilateral forums will also be discussed.

"Pakistan-Azerbaijan relationship is embedded in commonalities of faith, culture and history, and strengthened by mutual trust and convergence of views on regional and global matters," the FO statement read.

In a recent development, Pakistan released two tenders for spot liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipments after nearly a year, coinciding with the announcement of a monthly LNG cargo agreement with Azerbaijan.

Pakistan has encountered difficulties in procuring spot cargoes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) due to its dependence on gas for power generation and limited foreign exchange reserves, aggravated by the spike in global prices resulting from Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Petroleum Minister Musadik Malik, on Tuesday, announced that Azerbaijan had agreed to provide Pakistan with a monthly LNG cargo at a more affordable price. Although specific details of the supply agreement were not disclosed, Malik confirmed that a contract had been signed with Azerbaijan and that the deliveries would commence in the near future.

This situation resulted in widespread power outages. However, Asian spot LNG prices have significantly declined this year, dropping from the record highs of $70/mmBtu in August to below $10.

The minister added that the frequent leadership-level exchanges highlight the bonds of friendship between the two countries and contribute to closer multifaceted cooperation for the mutual benefit of the people of Pakistan and Azerbaijan.

On the other hand, the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) will meet today (Wednesday) with Finance Minister Senator Ishaq Dar to take up the issue of approval for the import of distressed LNG for the third time from an Azerbaijan firm SOCAR, based in the UK.