NEW YORK: Caretaker Minister for Foreign Affairs Jalil Abbas Jilani on Friday met his Azerbaijani counterpart Jeyhun Bayramov wherein they discussed the common challenges including Islamophobia and climate change.

In the meeting held on the sidelines of the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly, the two sides agreed to work together at the international fora, especially at the United Nations and the OIC.

The two sides reviewed the recent developments in bilateral relations, especially in the domain of bilateral trade, defence, energy and IT cooperation.

Welcoming the announcement of direct flight operations of Azerbaijan Airline (AZAR) to Pakistan, the foreign minister termed it a positive development to facilitate people-to-people exchanges for business and tourism.

He thanked Azerbaijan for its consistent and valuable support to Pakistan on the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) at various international fora, including at the OIC Contact Group on Jammu and Kashmir.

FM Jilani briefed the Azerbaijani Counterpart about the grave situation in IIOJK, marked by gross violations of human rights, illegal attempts to change the demographic structure of the occupied territory, and intensification of ceasefire violations by the Indian side on the LOC threatening peace and security.

The regional situation of South Caucuses and Azerbaijan’s efforts to promote peace and stability in the region were also discussed.