May 22 , 2015
News
Pakistan, Kyrgyzstan to jointly curb extremism, drug trafficking
* Nawaz, Sariyev agree to improve and strengthen bilateral relations in areas of trade, economy, people-to-people contacts and tourism
APPBISHKEK: With focus on enhanced cooperation in energy sector and regional connectivity, Pakistan and Kyrgyzstan on Thursday agreed to further improve and strengthen their bilateral relations in diverse areas including trade, economy, people-to-people contacts and tourism.
“Our political relations are excellent. We have agreed to further improve our economic relations, people-to-people contacts, tourism and energy,” Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif told a joint press stakeout with his Kyrgyz counterpart Temir Sariyev after holding one-to-one and delegation-level talks.
The two sides also signed an agreement and a memorandum of understanding to further strengthen relations in different fields.
The prime minister said the two countries have shared interests on a broad range of issues, including peace and stability, countering terrorism, narcotics drugs and extremism, trade and economic cooperation, and regional integration. He said Pakistan wished to further deepen and broaden relations with the Kyrgyz Republic in all areas of cooperation.
“During our talks today, the Kyrgyz Prime Minister and I reviewed all important aspects of our bilateral relations. We focused on the need for regular political exchanges between Pakistan and the Kyrgyz Republic, including high-level visits,” he added.
“We held wide-ranging consultations on issues relating to common challenges we face today and the opportunities available,” he said, and added that two sides discussed ways of realizing full potential of the rich human and material resources, through expanding trade, increasing investments, improving infrastructure, building road and rail links, and enhancing energy collaboration.
He said both the sides stressed the need for fast-track progress on energy projects. “It is highly satisfactory that all important agreements regarding CASA-1000 Project have been concluded,” he added.
The prime minister said as Pakistan’s economic growth is heavily dependent on electricity, CASA-1000 can help in mitigating Pakistan’s energy deficit. “We should collectively work for implementation of this project at the earliest,” he added.
He said Pakistan wished to develop elaborate network of communication linkages. “We have taken the initiative to develop Gwadar Port and China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. This will facilitate regional connectivity and enable Central Asian States to use our ports. Similarly, we will have access to this region,” he added.
The prime minister said the meeting has provided an opportunity to the two sides to discuss cooperation between Pakistan and Kyrgyzstan at the multilateral forums, especially at the UN, G-77, NAM and ECO. “We look forward to work in close cooperation with Kyrgyzstan for comprehensive reform of the UN Security Council that takes into account aspirations of all member states. Instead of creating more centres of privilege, the reform should pay particular attention to the interests of smaller states and make the Security Council more democratic,” he added.
The prime minister said Pakistan looked forward to becoming a member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and would appreciate the support of Kyrgyzstan to the request.
He said the signing of accords between Pakistan and Kyrgyzstan would help in further strengthening of relations between the two countries.
The prime minister said Pakistan would continue to provide training courses to Kyrgyz nationals. “More than 60 young and mid-career diplomats have been provided training at the Foreign Service Academy in Islamabad.” Courses were also being offered for training in the banking, postal and other sectors, he added.
In his remarks, Kyrgyz Prime Minister Temir Sariev said the close contacts and trust-based relationship between the leaders of the two countries played an important role in the development of bilateral relations.
He said the Kyrgyz government was committed to further strengthening and expanding cooperation and collaboration with Pakistan on high-priority areas. He said in the context of the active development of Gwadar and Karachi sea ports, as well as Kyrgyzstan’s accession to the Eurasian Economic Union, Kyrgyzstan has a unique opportunity to become a bridge between North and South by joining the regional transport corridors with an access to the open sea through Pakistan.
He said taking this into account, a special focus of our talks was laid on the development of transport infrastructure, which can expand economic ties between our countries in the sphere of world trade.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk