ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari will depart for a four-day official visit to Kyrgyzstan on Monday at the invitation of President Sadyr Zhaparov, the Foreign Office (FO) said.
Accompanied by a high-level delegation, Zardari’s visit will be the first by a Pakistani president to Kyrgyzstan in 21 years, marking what the FO described as “a historic milestone in the bilateral relationship”.
The FO said the visit follows Zhaparov’s “successful visit” to Pakistan in December 2025 and reflects the “sustained upward trajectory of high-level engagement between the two brotherly countries”.
During the visit, President Zardari will hold one-on-one talks with President Zhaparov, followed by delegation-level discussions.
According to the FO, the two leaders will review the full scope of Pakistan-Kyrgyzstan relations and exchange views on regional and international developments of mutual interest.
The discussions are expected to focus on expanding cooperation in trade and investment, energy, mining, agriculture, textiles, the halal industry, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, the digital economy, education, tourism and people-to-people exchanges.
President Zardari will also receive a courtesy call from Kyrgyz Parliament Speaker Marlen Mamataliev during the visit.
The FO said Pakistan and Kyrgyzstan enjoy “warm and fraternal relations, anchored in shared history, faith, culture and common aspirations for peace, connectivity and prosperity in Central and South Asia”.
Both countries are members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation alongside China, Russia, India, Iran and other regional states.
Pakistan and Kyrgyzstan are also partners in the CASA-1000 electricity transmission project, a $1.2 billion initiative involving Tajikistan and Afghanistan that is expected to become operational by January 2027.
President Zhaparov has previously said CASA-1000 would “serve as a cornerstone in establishing a unified energy system between Central and South Asia”.
During Zhaparov’s two-day visit to Islamabad in December 2025, the two countries signed 15 memoranda of understanding covering sectors including commerce, energy and health to strengthen bilateral cooperation.
In August last year, Pakistan and Kyrgyzstan also agreed to expand collaboration in cryptocurrency, blockchain technology and digital finance. A month earlier, both sides reaffirmed their commitment to increasing bilateral trade to $100 million during a session of their intergovernmental commission.
Pakistan’s exports to Kyrgyzstan totalled $3.124 million during the first 10 months of fiscal year 2025-26, marking a 7.44 per cent decline compared to the same period a year earlier. Imports from Kyrgyzstan rose to $0.626 million from $0.493 million in the previous fiscal year.
