Dar meets Kyrgyzstan president, reaffirms Islamabad’s commitment to strengthening ties

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar met Kyrgyzstan President Sadyr Zhaparov and reaffirmed Islamabad’s commitment to strengthening ties between the two countries, the Foreign Office (FO) said on Thursday.

Zhaparov arrived in Islamabad yesterday on a two-day maiden visit to Pakistan. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said in a post on X the visit was the first by a Kyrgyz president in 20 years.

Today, the FO said in a post on X that Dar called on President Zhaparov and welcomed his delegation to Pakistan.

It added that Dar conveyed the “warm greetings” of President Asif Ali Zardari and PM Shehbaz.

“He reaffirmed Pakistan’s strong commitment, at the highest political level, to further strengthening Pak–Kyrgyz relations in all areas of mutual interest,” the FO added.

Dar also briefed Zhaparov on his planned engagements with Pakistan’s leadership, interactions with both countries’ business communities, and discussions aimed at advancing broad-based bilateral cooperation.

Dar had also welcomed Kyrgyz Foreign Minister Zheenbek Kulubaev at the FO yesterday, where the two held “important consultations ranging over areas of mutual interest”.

During the visit a number of memorandums of understanding (MOUs) are expected to be inked between the two sides on trade, investment, IT, natural resources and defence, a source in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) told media on Wednesday.

Pakistan and the Kyrgyz Republic share longstanding relations, founded on deep-rooted cultural, historical, and spiritual affinities.

The two countries had agreed to promote bilateral cooperation in cryptocurrency, blockchain technology and digital finance in August.

In July, they reaffirmed an agreement to increase bilateral trade to $100 million at a session of their intergovernmental commission.

Alongside bilateral relations, Pakistan and Kyrgyzstan are both members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisa­tion, a 10-nation Eurasian security and political grouping whose other members include China, Russia, India, and Iran.