Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan seek to raise bilateral trade to $200M

Kyrgyzstan and Pakistan agreed to take practical steps to increase bilateral trade from the current $16 million to $200 million, the leaders of the two countries said on Wednesday.

Speaking at a news conference in the Kyrgz capital Bishkek alongside Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Kyrgyz President Sadyr Jparov said Bishkek was interested in taking bilateral ties with Islamabad to a new level.

"The high-level contacts between our countries in such a short period are clear evidence of the strong mutual trust and our shared commitment to bringing Kyrgyz-Pakistani relations to a new level," he said.

Japarov described as "meaningful" the talks with Sharif, noting that the two countries agreed to boost economic ties.

He called the CASA-1000 project, which connects the energy potential of Central Asia with the growing energy needs of South Asia, of particular importance.

For his part, Sharif said Pakistan and Kyrgyzstan had agreed to work toward raising bilateral trade to $200 million within the next two years, compared with current trade of about $16 million.

Sharif said the existing trade volume did not reflect the strength of relations between the two countries and called for greater engagement between their governments and private sectors.

The two sides also finalized a transit trade agreement intended to facilitate commercial movement between the countries as part of efforts to expand trade and improve transport links.

The leaders witnessed the signing of a series of agreements and memorandums covering trade, education, science and technology, health, environmental protection, security and other areas.

The documents included an agreement on extradition, cooperation between postal services and e-commerce, and an agreement establishing a sister-city relationship between Kyrgyzstan's Osh and Pakistan's Lahore.

Japarov and Sharif signed a joint statement outlining the priorities discussed during the Pakistani prime minister's visit, which is aimed at further developing political, economic and humanitarian ties between the two countries.