ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari on Tuesday met Kyrgyz Republic President Sadyr Zhaparov Nurgozhoevich during his visit to Kyrgyzstan. According to a statement by the presidency, President Zardari’s visit underscored the friendship between Pakistan and Kyrgyzstan based on common faith, shared history and cultural affinity.

The meeting was preceded by an official welcoming ceremony held in honour of President Zardari at the Rukh Ordo Cultural Centre. In the meeting, both leaders reviewed the entire gamut of bilateral cooperation and explored opportunities in trade, energy, connectivity, political and commercial cooperation, people-to-people exchanges and progress on the CASA-1000 Project.

Mr Zardari recalled the Kyrgyz president’s recent state visit to Pakistan in December 2025, saying that the visit imparted fresh momentum to the bilateral relationship and resulted in the signing of 16 agreements/MoUs.

An MoU between the Kyrgyz Ministry of Health and the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan was signed by Damirbek Osmonov, the Kyrgyz health minister, and Health Minister Dr Mukhtar Bharath.

A joint statement was later signed by the two presidents featured economic cooperation with an aim to boost trade and investment, improving the efficiency of the Intergovernmental Commission, and supporting direct business-to-business contacts; accelerating the implementation of the CASA-1000 project as a vital regional link; expanding ties in mining, agriculture, textiles, tourism, the digital economy, and the halal sector; enhancing collaboration between drug regulatory authorities, focusing on medical education, vaccine manufacturing, and joint ventures; optimising transit routes to increase cargo transportation volumes; and strengthening cooperation against terrorism, extremism, and cybercrime.

Published in Dawn, July 8th, 2026