Kyrgyzstan’s President Sadyr Japarov inspects the guard of honor at the Prime Minister’s House in Islamabad. Photo: AFP
ISLAMABAD:
Pakistan and Kyrgyzstan on Thursday, underlining the importance of regional peace and stability, agreed that the Afghan Taliban regime must honor its commitments to the international community and address Pakistan’s legitimate security concerns by taking concrete and verifiable actions against terrorist entities.
Bilateral and regional relations were discussed during delegation-level talks held at the Prime Minister House.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and President of Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Zhaparov Nurgozhoevich led their respective parties in a delegation-level meeting.
Both leaders also reaffirmed their commitment to a peaceful and stable Afghanistan and a sustainable future for its people.
During the talks, both sides also exchanged views on important regional and global developments. While expressing concern about growing threats to peace and security in the region, they agreed that disputes must be resolved by peaceful means in accordance with international law, including the Charter of the United Nations, and relevant resolutions of the United Nations Security Council.
The two sides also exchanged views on the ongoing peace efforts in Gaza and reiterated their unwavering support for the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and the establishment of a sovereign, viable, contiguous and independent Palestinian State, based on the pre-June 1967 borders with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.
During the talks, the prime minister was assisted by Deputy Prime Minister and External Affairs Minister Muhammad Ishaq Dar, Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, Chief of Army Staff, federal ministers and senior government officials.
The Prime Minister underlined that Pakistan attaches great importance to its brotherly relations with the Kyrgyz Republic.
He reiterated Pakistan’s continued commitment to enhance its engagement with Central Asian states under the “Vision Central Asia” policy.
Both leaders emphasized the importance of broadening and deepening relations between Pakistan and Kyrgyzstan, which were underpinned by historical ties, cultural similarities, shared values and a common vision for regional peace and prosperity. They reviewed progress on existing cooperation frameworks and reaffirmed their shared determination to further strengthen this partnership, particularly in the areas of trade, energy, connectivity and people-to-people contacts.
Highlighting the need to enhance economic cooperation, the two sides agreed to expand bilateral trade and investment, setting a bilateral trade volume target of $200 million by 2027-28, through effective implementation of signed agreements/MoUs and a results-oriented approach. The two leaders observed with satisfaction the fruitful fifth meeting of the Kyrgyzstan-Pakistan Joint Intergovernmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technical and Cultural Cooperation held in Islamabad on July 28-29, 2025.
Both sides recognized the importance of energy connectivity for regional stability. They reiterated their shared vision for the timely and effective implementation of the CASA-1000 project, which represents a cornerstone of regional energy cooperation and a vital link between Central and South Asia.
The two leaders also emphasized the vital need for well-developed, safe, sustainable and diversified connectivity routes between the Kyrgyz Republic and Pakistan to ensure further improvement of bilateral and regional trade. In this regard, they expressed their satisfaction over the operationalization of the road corridor between Pakistan and the Kyrgyz Republic under the Quadrilateral Transit Traffic Agreement (QTTA).
During the talks, both sides also exchanged views on important regional and global developments. While expressing concern about growing threats to peace and security in the region, they agreed that disputes must be resolved by peaceful means in accordance with international law, including the Charter of the United Nations, and relevant resolutions of the United Nations Security Council.
Later, both leaders witnessed the exchange of 15 MoUs and agreements in various sectors including energy, mining, trade, education, law and justice, agriculture, culture and tourism.
Earlier, upon arriving at the Prime Minister House, the President of the Kyrgyz Republic received the guard of honor from a contingent of the Pakistani armed forces.
The Prime Minister also hosted a lunch in honor of the Kyrgyz President and his delegation. Both leaders also held a joint press conference.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif urged Kyrgyz businessmen to identify areas of mutual cooperation to enhance trade and undertake joint ventures to invest in sectors across the Pakistani economy.
While speaking at a Pakistan-Kyrgyzstan Business Forum event, he said that Pakistan received a high-level delegation from Kyrgyzstan led by its president, after a gap of 20 years.
He said that similarly, the two sides signed an MoU that will take bilateral trade, which at this time was a paltry sum of $5 million, to $200 million in the next two years. “This will be a qualitative leap in our trade relations and will bode very well for our future cooperation,” he continued.
Memorandum of understanding
Pakistan and Kyrgyzstan signed multiple agreements to strengthen bilateral cooperation in multiple sectors including energy, mining, trade, agriculture, culture, health, tourism and regional connectivity.
The pre-signed documents were formally exchanged during a ceremony held at the Prime Minister’s House as part of the inaugural state visit of the President of the Kyrgyz Republic, Sadyr Nurgozhoevich Zhaparov, at the invitation of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
Prime Minister Shehbaz and President Zhaparov witnessed the ceremony.
The two leaders signed a joint statement on “Strengthening comprehensive cooperation in the interests of both countries.”
Both sides exchanged memorandums of understanding between the Pakistan Foreign Service Academy and the Diplomatic Academy of the Kyrgyz Republic; and between the Ministry of Economy and Commerce of Kyrgyzstan and the Ministry of Commerce of Pakistan.
The MoUs on cooperation in the field of agriculture; mining and geosciences; Pakistani and Kyrgyz sides exchanged information on energy sector and utilization of Pakistani ports for regional connectivity.
Pakistan and Kyrgyzstan exchanged agreement documents on the transfer of convicts to prison to serve their sentences.
Both sides exchanged MoUs on electronic data exchange between customs services of both countries; and cooperation in the field of tourism; and surgical instruments.
The two sides also exchanged documents of an agreement in the field of culture and for the establishment of sister city relations between Bishkek and Islamabad.
Representatives of both sides also exchanged memoranda of understanding on cooperation between the Ministry of Justice of Kyrgyzstan and the Ministry of Law and Justice of Pakistan; between the Prime Minister’s Youth Program of Pakistan and the Ministry of Culture, Information, Sports and Youth Policy of Kyrgyzstan; and between the Diplomatic Academy of the Kyrgyz Republic and the National University of Modern Languages (NUML).
