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Pakistan aims to join EAEU, deputy commerce minister tells TASS

Nasir Hamid added that the Pakistani side "recently established diplomatic contact with Armenia"

MOSCOW, September 10. /TASS/. Pakistan intends to join the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), already making preparations for that, the country’s Deputy Minister of Commerce Nasir Hamid told TASS.

"We are not yet negotiating with the EAEU at the moment. However, we are doing preparatory work and exploring opportunities for ourselves," he said, adding that the Pakistani side "recently established diplomatic contact with Armenia." "So we are still discussing the issue. And as soon as a solution appears, we will be ready for rapprochement with the EAEU," Hamid said.

Sources told TASS earlier this week that Pakistan intended to recognize Armenia as a United Nations member state, for which it would get a green light to join the Eurasian Economic Union. One of sources said that the relevant procedure could take from weeks to months, adding that this will happen in the foreseeable future in any case. There are no obstacles left for such a development now that Armenia and Azerbaijan have signed a peace agreement, the source noted.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said earlier that Russia welcomed the resumption of communication between Armenia and Pakistan.

Armenia-Pakistan relations

Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan and his Pakistani counterpart Ishaq Dar held a meeting on the sidelines of a Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in China on August 31. They signed a communique on the establishment of diplomatic relations.

During the period of independence, Armenia did not have diplomatic relations with Pakistan due to Islamabad’s position on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Moreover, Armenia’s national security doctrine described Pakistan as a national security threat.

The top diplomats of Armenia and Azerbaijan initialed a peace agreement in Washington on August 8, with the parties announcing the establishment of peace in the region.