Pakistan and Kyrgyzstan have officially agreed to raise bilateral relations to a strong economic partnership in a major step towards strengthening regional integration. In Bishkek, the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Shehbaz Sharif, and the President of Kyrgyz Republic, Sadyr Japarov, signed off on a strategic roadmap that will help bring about a new era of the Pakistan-Kyrgyz economic cooperation. The main goal of this overall plan is to gradually raise bilateral trade up to $200 million, to optimize the mechanisms of trade and to actively facilitate joint venture investments between the two countries.
Landmark Transit Trade Agreement and Sister City Status
The signing of the Transit Trade Agreement was a significant milestone of the bilateral negotiations. President Sadyr Japarov pointed out that deep sea ports of Pakistan (Karachi and Gwadar) provide the most natural and efficient gateway for Kyrgyzstan to the markets of South Asia and world sea trade.
The two leaders signed an agreement establishing a “Sister City” relationship between the historic cities of Lahore and Osh, in order to make the cities more closely linked to one another, both socially and culturally, as well as economically. Further, a number of Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) were signed on key areas including:
Stopping the illegal traffic of narcotic drugs.
Improvements in educational development, scientific, technological and academic research.
Cooperation on environment and climate change.
Launching of virtual assets, postal services and e-commerce.
Pakistan and Kyrgyzstan have agreed to strengthen their economic partnership@PakPMO #News #RadioPakistan https://t.co/uxSN9z6vRG pic.twitter.com/6COSd5MNM8
— Radio Pakistan (@RadioPakistan) September 2, 2026
Accelerating the CASA-1000 Project and Energy Cooperation
The recently strengthened economic partnership between Pakistan and Kyrgyzstan is anchored around energy integration. Both leaders reiterated their steadfast support for the successful completion of the CASA-1000 project, which is a regional power project to export clean hydropower from Central Asia to South Asia, in a timely manner.
It was welcomed that a specialised Joint Working Group on Energy was set up to facilitate this cooperation. This dedicated body will ensure active cooperation in the electricity transmission, hydro-generation infrastructure, renewable energy systems and modern grid technologies. Establishing these corridors is essential for realizing the common vision of structural connectivity between the two countries of Central Asia and South Asia, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said.
Joint Front Against Climate Change, Security Threats, and Global Tensions
In his press stakeout with President Obama, President Japarov stated that it’s more important than ever to have a better understanding during times of international volatility. He congratulated Pakistan on taking over the Chairmanship of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) for 2026-27.
The two countries, in both cases, promised to keep the close coordination at a global level at various platforms such as the United Nations and Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). Moreover, the talks highlighted the measures to be taken to counter today’s security threats, both sides agreeing to strengthen intelligence and defense cooperation against terrorism and extremism, as well as addressing ecological problems with a joint climate change action.
