Pakistan, Kyrgyzstan sign multiple accords to strengthen bilateral cooperation

Islamabad (Web Desk): Pakistan and Kyrgyzstan on Thursday formalised a sweeping set of agreements aimed at expanding cooperation across a broad range of sectors, including energy, mining, trade, agriculture, health, culture and regional connectivity.

The documents—15 in total—were exchanged at a ceremony held at the Prime Minister’s House, coinciding with the first official visit of Kyrgyz President Sadyr Nurgozhoevich Zhaparov, who arrived in Islamabad on Wednesday at the invitation of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

The ceremony was witnessed by Prime Minister Shehbaz and President Zhaparov.

The two leaders signed a joint statement on “Strengthening of Comprehensive Cooperation in the Interest of Both Countries.”

Several memoranda of understanding (MoUs) were exchanged, including one between Pakistan’s Foreign Service Academy and the Diplomatic Academy of the Kyrgyz Republic, and another between the Kyrgyz Ministry of Economy and Commerce and Pakistan’s Ministry of Commerce

MoUs were also signed for cooperation in agriculture, mining and geosciences, the energy sector, and the use of Pakistani ports to improve regional transport and trade links.

An agreement enabling the transfer of convicted individuals to serve their sentences in their home countries was also exchanged.

Both sides further shared MoUs on electronic customs data exchange, collaboration in the tourism sector, and cooperation in the field of surgical instruments.

Cultural collaboration received a boost as well, with documents exchanged on cultural cooperation and the establishment of sister-city ties between Islamabad and Bishkek.

The ceremony also featured the exchange of MoUs between the Kyrgyz Ministry of Justice and Pakistan’s Ministry of Law and Justice; between Pakistan’s Prime Minister’s Youth Programme and Kyrgyzstan’s Ministry of Culture, Information, Sports and Youth Policy; and between the Diplomatic Academy of Kyrgyzstan and Pakistan’s National University of Modern Languages (NUML).