PM Shehbaz says Pakistan, Kyrgyzstan will work towards expanding bilateral trade to $200m

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Wednesday that he and Kyrgyz President Sadyr Zhaparov had held talks focused on economic cooperation and agreed that “our economic partnership must now move to a more practical and result-oriented stage”. “To this end, we will be working on a comprehensive plan of practical measures aimed at gradually increasing bilateral trade to $200 million, improving trade mechanisms, promoting joint investment projects, strengthening industrial cooperation and expanding direct business-to-business contacts,” he said, addressing the media alongside President Zhaparov in Bishkek after the two countries signed multiple memoranda (MoU) of understanding. Following the signing of the MoUs, PM Shehbaz addressed a press briefing alongside President Zhaparov, saying that, as he had noted during their earlier meeting, the current bilateral trade between Pakistan and Kyrgyzstan stood at around $16 million, which, he said, was “not a patch on our friendship and our very strong relations.” He recalled that during his talks with President Zhaparov, he had noted that “our present-day bilateral trade stands at around $16m, which is not a patch on our friendship and our ve