DURING the first visit of Kyrgyz President Sadyr Zhaparov to Pakistan in twenty years, the two countries have expressed the resolve to elevate bilateral relations to a much higher level by enhancing collaboration in political, trade, connectivity, energy, agriculture, education, defence and cultural domains. A determination in this regard was expressed during a meeting of the visiting dignitary with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif when they also agreed to strengthen people-to-people exchanges through cultural initiatives, tourism promotion and academic partnerships.
The visit will surely go a long way in putting the bilateral relationship on strong foundations in the backdrop of lackluster ties as highlighted by infrequent high level visits and a negligible trade volume that, instead of improving, is going down. This was in stark contrast to the avowed commitment of successive Pakistani governments to promote diverse relations with all Central Asian states. In a significant development, the two countries exchanged MoUs for cooperation in the field of agriculture; mining and geosciences; energy sector and utilization of Pakistan’s ports for regional connectivity besides those on tourism, culture and health. Both leaders emphasized the significance of expanding and deepening Pakistan-Kyrgyz relations that were underpinned by historic links, cultural similarities, shared values and a common vision for regional peace and prosperity. They reviewed progress on existing cooperation frameworks and reaffirmed their shared resolve to further strengthen this partnership. It is also satisfying that the two sides agreed to expand bilateral trade and investment, setting a target of USD 200 million bilateral trade volume by 2027-28, through effective implementation of the signed agreements/MoUs and a result-oriented approach. More importantly, the two countries had a similarity of views on most of the regional and global issues, especially with respect to Afghanistan as they agreed that the Afghan Taliban regime must honour its commitments to the international community and address Pakistan’s legitimate security concerns, by taking concrete and verifiable actions against terrorist entities. The two countries also agreed that disputes must be resolved through peaceful means in accordance with international law including the UN Charter and relevant UN Security Council resolutions. The prospects to take the bilateral relationship to new heights are there and we hope relevant ministries and officials of the two countries will build on the understanding reached during the visit of the Kyrgyz President.
