Samarkand, 15 September 2022 (TDI): The President of Kyrgyzstan, Sadyr Japarov called on Prime Minister of Pakistan, Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization SCO Summit 2022, in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.
Kyrgyz President, Sadyr Japarov calls on Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on the sidelines of SCO-CHS in Samarqand, Uzbekistan pic.twitter.com/hIyeptUeqx
— Prime Minister’s Office (@PakPMO) September 15, 2022
During the meeting, the Kyrgyz President expressed sympathy and sorrow for the loss of precious lives and property in Pakistan’s devastating floods caused by climate change.
While the Prime Minister of Pakistan thanked President Zhaparov for his gesture of sympathy and described the devastation caused by the severe floods.
He also emphasized the significance of immediate global action to address the issue of climate change, as well as the need for assistance from countries such as Pakistan, which had virtually no contribution to carbon emissions.
The two sides also accentuated the importance of increased collaboration in commerce, investment, energy, and people-to-people interactions.
Along these lines, the leaders highlighted the importance of furthering high-level interactions, inter-parliamentary connections, and defense and security partnerships.
They agreed to hold the next Joint Ministerial Commission meeting as soon as possible. They also reaffirmed their commitment to completing the “CASA-1000” power transmission project on time.
Likewise, the Pakistani Prime Minister underlined Pakistan’s willingness to enable Kyrgyzstan’s access to the sea via the ports of Gwadar and Karachi. He also expressed his delight at the return of chartered flights between the two countries.
He expressed gratitude for hosting more than 11,000 Pakistani students in Kyrgyz medical universities and hoped that the Kyrgyz government would continue to assist them and secure their safety and security during their educational stay in the country.
The two parties agreed to keep in touch on a regular basis at the highest levels. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif invited President Zhaparov to visit Pakistan as soon as possible.
2022 SCO Summit
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is a Eurasia-based political, economic, and security organization.
In terms of geographical scope and demography, it is the world’s biggest regional organization, spanning around more than half of Eurasia, and nearly half of the global population. It also makes up 30% of the global GDP.
The 2022 SCO Summit is held in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. Samarkand is well-known for its location on the ancient trade Silk Road route that connects China to the Mediterranean.
The SCO summit in Uzbekistan will assess the organization’s actions over the previous two decades and suggest areas where multilateral cooperation may be advantageous.
The geopolitical scenario in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as well as the situation in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan, would be discussed.
It is worth noting that this is the first in-person summit since the 2019 SCO summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. Leaders from SCO member countries will attend the 22nd Meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Council of Heads of State.
The SCO Secretary General, the Executive Director of the SCO Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS), the President of Turkmenistan, and others are also expected to attend, according to the Observer.
Moreover, at the summit, Iran will be formally admitted to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.
Pakistan-Kyrgyzstan relations
Kyrgyzstan and Pakistan established diplomatic relations on 20 December 1991, shortly after Kyrgyzstan gained independence from the Soviet Union.
On 10 May 1992, diplomatic ties were formally established.
Both countries inked an agreement in 1991 to promote and expand economic and cultural connections. Relations have since improved.
