PESHAWAR: Ambassador of Islamic Republic of Azerbaijan to Pakistan Ali Alizada on Wednesday expressed the desire of his government and entrepreneurs to invest in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the backdrop of the Beijing Road Show organised by the provincial government, last month.

During his meeting with representatives of Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the envoy announced complete support to Pakistan`s stand on Kashmir issue and demanded its resolution under the United Nations resolutions, according to a statement issued here.

At his meeting with Chief Minister Pervez Khattak, Mr Alizada especially mentioned the areas of expertise of his country in tourism, energy, industry, construction, produc-tion, procurement and engineering masterplanning.

He said the government and people of Azerbaijan were of the firm view that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was closer than Islamabad and rest of Pakistan. Similarly, the two peoples shared religious, ethnic and cultural values.

Hence, he said Azerbaijanis preferred KP more feasible for investment and developing mutual relations in trade, commerce and industry.

The envoy lauded the reforms in various sectors carried out by the provincial government.

He acknowledged that the restoration of complete peace as well as announcement of incentives by the provincial government had convinced the investors from Azerbaijan to investhere on alarge scale.

On the occasion, Mr Khattak said investors from around the globe could invest their capitals in his province with security of their investments.

He said a special police force of 4,000 personnel was being set up to ensure foolproof security for the purpose.

He welcomed the investment offers by the Azerbaijan entrepreneurs. He also thankedthe Azerbaijan government and investors for showing satisfaction on steps taken by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government for maintaining peace and creating congenial atmosphereforgrowthoftrade andindustryinthe province.

Mr Khattal( said the relations between people of Azerbaijan and Pakistan dated back to centuries. We not only have brotherly ties based on faith and ethnicity but also have strong cultural and historic bonds.

He said Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was an investor friendly province, which offered full facilitation and protection to investors. He said currently the province was undergoing a transition.

The chief minister said the province was blessed with huge untapped potential in tourism, hydel, oil and gas, mines and minerals sectors, and that the provincial government had a robust plan to capitalise on these sectors through increased investment.

He said technical assistance or investment from government and investors of Azerbaijan in that regard would be highly welcomed. He said CPEC was opening up new avenues for investment in the province.