Pakistan, Kyrgyzstan Seek Deeper Cooperation in Trade, Energy and Connectivity
BISHKEK, KYRGYZSTAN — WEB DESK: Pakistan and Kyrgyzstan have reaffirmed plans to deepen bilateral relations, with a particular focus on trade, investment, energy, connectivity, regional security and people-to-people exchanges, during talks between their foreign ministers in Bishkek on Wednesday.
Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar met Kyrgyz Foreign Minister Zheenbek Kulubaev ahead of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s talks with Kyrgyz President Sadyr Zhaparov, according to Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Dar congratulated Kulubaev on Kyrgyzstan’s leadership of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and its hosting of the SCO summit, which concluded in Bishkek on Tuesday. He also praised Kyrgyzstan’s role in advancing the organisation’s agenda.
Economic Cooperation in Focus
During the meeting, Dar reaffirmed Pakistan’s intention to strengthen bilateral relations across several priority areas.
The Foreign Office identified trade, investment, energy and connectivity among the principal economic sectors discussed, alongside regional security and stronger contacts between the people of the two countries.
The foreign ministers’ discussions complemented the broader economic agenda pursued during Shehbaz’s official visit to Kyrgyzstan.
In separate talks between Shehbaz and Zhaparov on Wednesday, the two countries agreed to strengthen their economic partnership. Pakistan has called for bilateral trade, currently described by Shehbaz as around $16 million annually, to rise to $200 million within two years.
That figure remains a target rather than an agreed or guaranteed future trade volume.
The two governments have also been exploring stronger transport links and regional connectivity as Pakistan seeks closer commercial integration with Central Asian economies.
Kyrgyzstan Backs Pakistan’s SCO Leadership
Kulubaev congratulated Pakistan on assuming the chairmanship of the SCO Council of Heads of State for 2026-27, expressing confidence that Islamabad would provide effective leadership in advancing the organisation’s agenda.
The distinction is important: Pakistan has taken over the chairmanship of the SCO’s top-level Council of Heads of State following the Bishkek summit and is due to host the next leaders’ summit in Islamabad in 2027. Pakistan’s Foreign Office had confirmed the planned transition before the summit.
Kulubaev separately announced the handover following the Bishkek summit and said Kyrgyzstan was prepared to support Pakistan to ensure continuity and implementation of decisions adopted during Kyrgyzstan’s chairmanship.
Pakistan has selected “Turning Vision into Action: Connectivity, Innovation and Shared Prosperity” as the theme of its chairmanship, according to SCO Secretary-General Nurlan Yermekbayev.
Close Bilateral Ties
Kulubaev stressed the importance Kyrgyzstan places on what he described as its close and friendly relations with Pakistan and said Bishkek was ready to expand cooperation in areas of mutual interest.
The language reflects the Kyrgyz government’s diplomatic position on bilateral ties and should not be interpreted as a new treaty or strategic alliance.
Pakistan and Kyrgyzstan have increasingly focused their relationship on practical economic issues, particularly connectivity between Central and South Asia.
For Pakistan, closer engagement with Kyrgyzstan forms part of a broader strategy of increasing trade and transport links with Central Asian states. For landlocked Kyrgyzstan, Pakistani transport corridors and ports could provide additional access towards South Asian and international markets.
Those opportunities remain partly aspirational, however, and depend on implementation of transport, customs and trade arrangements rather than political declarations alone.
Regional Security Also Discussed
The two foreign ministers also exchanged views on regional and international developments and agreed to maintain close coordination through the SCO and other multilateral forums.
According to the Foreign Office, both sides agreed to continue working towards “peace, stability, and shared prosperity.”
No new bilateral defence alliance, security pact or specific joint military initiative was announced during the foreign ministers’ meeting.
Instead, regional security formed one part of a wider diplomatic agenda covering economic and political cooperation.
Meeting Precedes Shehbaz-Zhaparov Talks
The Dar-Kulubaev meeting took place shortly before Shehbaz held formal talks with Zhaparov.
Dar was accompanied by Communications Minister Abdul Aleem Khan, Commerce Minister Jam Kamal Khan, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Tariq Fatemi and Foreign Secretary Amna Baloch.
The prime minister’s official visit to Kyrgyzstan ran from August 31 to September 2 and coincided with Pakistan taking over the SCO Council of Heads of State chairmanship.
The wider visit produced agreements between Pakistan and Kyrgyzstan and a commitment by both governments to expand economic engagement.
The foreign ministers’ meeting therefore served as part of that broader diplomatic push rather than representing a separate breakthrough.
The central challenge now will be translating the stated priorities — particularly trade, investment, energy and connectivity — into measurable economic activity as Pakistan begins its year leading the SCO Council of Heads of State.
