President Asif Ali Zardari. PHOTO: AFP/FILE
President Asif Ali Zardari will pay an official visit to Kyrgyzstan from July 6 to 9 at the invitation of President Sadyr Zhaparov, marking the first visit by a Pakistani head of state to the Central Asian country in 21 years, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) announced on Monday.
In a post on X, MoFA described the trip as “a historic milestone” in bilateral relations. It added that the president’s trip followed President Zhaparov’s visit to Pakistan last December and reflects “the continuing upward trajectory of high-level engagement between the two brotherly countries.”
Heading a high-level delegation, President Zardari is scheduled to hold one-on-one talks with President Zhaparov, followed by delegation-level discussions to review “the full spectrum of relations between Pakistan and Kyrgyzstan” and exchange views on regional and international developments of mutual interest.
According to the MoFA, the talks are expected to focus on “deepening cooperation” across a wide range of sectors, including trade and investment, energy, mining, agriculture, textiles, the halal industry, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, the digital economy, education, tourism and people-to-people exchanges.
During the visit, President Zardari will also receive the Speaker of the Kyrgyz Parliament for a courtesy call.
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Saying that Pakistan and Kyrgyzstan enjoy “warm and brotherly relations”, rooted in “shared history, faith, culture and shared aspirations for peace, connectivity and prosperity in Central and South Asia,” MoFA noted that President Zardari’s visit reflects the commitment of the two countries to strengthen bilateral ties and expand cooperation in areas of mutual interest that have generated high-momentum exchanges of late.
President Zhaparov visited Pakistan in December 2025, where Islamabad and Bishkek agreed to deepen cooperation in trade, investment, energy and regional relations, while reaffirming their commitment to regional peace and stability.
The countries had agreed to increase bilateral trade to $200 million by 2027-28, and signed a series of agreements and memorandums of understanding covering trade, energy, mining, agriculture, tourism, healthcare, culture, customs cooperation and the use of Pakistani ports to improve regional connectivity. The nations also reaffirmed their support for the CASA-1000 electricity transmission project and welcomed the operationalization of the road corridor under the Quadrilateral Traffic in Transit Agreement (QTTA).
Furthermore, Pakistani and Kyrgyz leaders also agreed that Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities must honor their commitments to the international community and address Pakistan’s security concerns by taking “concrete and verifiable actions” against militant groups operating from Afghan territory.
