BISHKEK – Pakistan and Kyrgyzstan have signed a series of agreements and memorandums of understanding (MoUs) covering trade, climate change, counterterrorism, information technology and several other areas of bilateral cooperation.
The agreements were signed during a ceremony in Bishkek attended by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov. The two leaders later addressed a joint press conference and discussed measures to further strengthen relations between the two countries.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif described the signing of a transit trade agreement between Pakistan and Kyrgyzstan as a positive development, saying it would help expand economic and commercial ties between the two countries.
He said Pakistan and Kyrgyzstan would work together to facilitate private-sector trade and investment and would take steps to simplify regulations to increase bilateral commerce. Pakistan, he added, wants to raise the volume of bilateral trade to $200 million.
The prime minister said the decision to declare Lahore and Kyrgyzstan’s city of Osh as twin cities would help strengthen cultural and people-to-people ties between the two countries.
He also said Pakistan and Kyrgyzstan had agreed to enhance cooperation in combating terrorism and extremism, while collaboration would also be expanded in education, science and technology, and culture.
According to the prime minister, the two sides also reached an understanding on joint efforts to address the challenges posed by climate change.
Shehbaz Sharif welcomed the establishment of a joint ministerial group aimed at advancing the CASA-1000 energy project, describing it as an important step towards strengthening energy cooperation between Pakistan and Kyrgyzstan.
The prime minister reiterated Pakistan’s desire to further expand its longstanding fraternal ties with Kyrgyzstan, saying the signing of multiple agreements marked the beginning of a new phase of bilateral cooperation.
He said both countries would continue working to facilitate trade, strengthen economic relations and expand cooperation across a range of sectors.
