KARACHI: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will undertake an official two-day visit to Azerbaijan from Wednesday, a day after Pakistan issued two tenders seeking spot LNG cargoes for the first time in nearly a year, and also announced a deal that will see Baku supplying Islamabad with one LNG cargo every month.

Pakistan LNG, a government subsidiary that procures LNG from the international market, has one tender seeking six cargoes on a delivered-ex-ship (DES) basis to Port Qasim in Karachi in October and December, according to the tenders posted online. The delivery windows are Oct 5-6, 20-21 and 31, and Dec 7-8, 13-14 and 24-25. The tender will close on June 20, Reuters reported.

PM leaves for Baku today; LNG deal announced

The other tender seeks three cargoes, also on a DES basis to Port Qasim, for delivery windows of Jan 3-4, 28-29 and Feb 23-24. The second tender closes on July 14.

Pakistan LNG last issued a tender seeking 10 spot cargoes in July 2022, but it received no offers.

Separately, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will undertake an official visit to Azerbaijan from June 14 to 15 on the invitation of President Ilham Aliyev, the PM Office announced.

Ministers representing the priority areas of cooperation with Azerbaijan will be part of the PM’s entourage.

According to the PMO, the prime minister will hold wide-ranging talks with Mr Aliyev on key areas of cooperation including trade, investment and energy. 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.

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, the statement said.

Published in Dawn, June 14th, 2023