Pakistan aims to raise Kyrgyz trade from $15m to $200m within two years — PM

• Pakistan offers Karachi, Port Qasim, Gwadar routes to help landlocked Kyrgyz exports
• 15 MoUs signed Wednesday, business delegations to meet today for investment talks

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has said Pakistan aims to raise bilateral trade with Kyrgyzstan from around $15–16 million to $200 million within two years, ahead of a Pakistan–Kyrgyzstan Business Forum scheduled in Islamabad today, Thursday.

The announcement followed a Wednesday evening MoU signing ceremony at the Prime Minister’s House, where Sharif and visiting President Sadyr Zhaparov jointly presided over agreements covering trade, connectivity, energy, ports access and business cooperation.

This is the Kyrgyz leader’s first visit to Pakistan in two decades, which both sides hope will accelerate negotiations on a long-delayed transit trade pact and push forward energy and transport projects linking Central and South Asia.

“We would be signing an MOU which is worth $200 million, that means that our present mutual trade, comprising of about $15–16 million will be enhanced to $200 million in the next two years,” Sharif said, calling the agreements signed Wednesday “a framework for structured, result-oriented engagement and closer institutional linkages.”

Sharif said Pakistan was ready to serve as a maritime outlet for the landlocked Central Asian republic, offering access to Karachi, Port Qasim and Gwadar to help Kyrgyz goods reach regional and global markets. He added that the two countries aimed to deepen cooperation in political relations, defense, agriculture, education, culture and tourism alongside trade.

The agreements signed at PM House are set to be followed today, Thursday, by the Pakistan–Kyrgyzstan Business Forum, where private companies will discuss investment, logistics and manufacturing opportunities, areas both governments have linked to the $200 million trade goal.

The visit also coincides with renewed discussion on CASA-1000, a $1.2 billion electricity transmission project that would export surplus hydropower from Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to Afghanistan and Pakistan. Progress has been slowed for years by security conditions and financing gaps, but Islamabad and Bishkek reaffirmed their support for the project this week.

Pakistan exported around $5–8 million in goods to Kyrgyzstan in recent years, with limited imports in return. Officials say progress on transit routes, port access and private-sector partnerships will determine whether the sharp scale-up to $200 million is achievable.

Zhaparov’s visit continues today with delegation-level meetings and an address to the business forum, where both sides are expected to outline next-step implementation on trade and connectivity plans.