Kyrgyz FM, Ishaq Dar discuss expanding bilateral cooperation | The Express Tribune

Kyrgyz Foreign Minister Zheenbek Kulubaev underscored the importance Kyrgyzstan attaches to its close and friendly relations with Pakistan during a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar in Bishkek on Wednesday, expressing readiness to further expand bilateral cooperation in areas of mutual interest, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) said.

The meeting took place ahead of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s meeting with Kyrgyz President Sadyr Zhaparov and a day after the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Council of Heads of State meeting concluded in the Kyrgyz capital.

According to the ministry’s post on X, FM Dar congratulated FM Kulubaev on Kyrgyzstan’s “successful leadership of the SCO” and its “effective hosting of the SCO Summit”, as well as the inaugural ceremony of the sixth World Nomad Games.

The foreign minister also appreciated Kyrgyzstan’s “leadership in advancing the SCO agenda”.

During the meeting, FM Dar reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to “further strengthening bilateral relations”, with particular emphasis on trade, investment, energy, connectivity, regional security and people-to-people exchanges, the foreign ministry said.

FM Kulubaev, meanwhile, congratulated Pakistan on assuming the chairmanship of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation’s Council of Heads of State for 2026-27.

The Kyrgyz foreign minister expressed confidence that Pakistan would “provide effective leadership in advancing the Organisation’s agenda”, according to the ministry.

He also underscored “the importance Kyrgyzstan attaches to its close and friendly relations with Pakistan” and expressed readiness to “further expand bilateral cooperation in areas of mutual interest”.

The two sides also discussed regional and international developments and agreed to maintain close coordination within the SCO and other multilateral forums.

They agreed to continue working together to advance “peace, stability, and shared prosperity”, the foreign ministry said.

The meeting took place as Prime Minister Shehbaz departed to hold talks with President Zhaparov on bilateral, regional and international issues.

Dar was accompanied by Communications Minister Abdul Aleem Khan, Commerce Minister Jam Kamal Khan, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Tariq Fatemi and Foreign Secretary Amna Baloch.

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FM Dar and PM Shehbaz arrived in Bishkek on Monday for a three-day official visit to attend the SCO Council of Heads of State meeting and the SCO Plus Summit, as Pakistan prepares to assume the SCO Council’s chairmanship for 2026-27.

On Tuesday, Dar held a series of meetings on the sidelines of the SCO summit in Bishkek, engaging with the foreign ministers of Iran, Azerbaijan, China, Uzbekistan and Belarus, as well as Turkey’s intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalın.

The meetings covered bilateral ties, regional and international developments and matters of mutual interest. Dar also stressed the importance of “dialogue and diplomacy” for regional peace and stability and called for continued coordination through multilateral forums.

His talks with Wang Yi reaffirmed the “All-Weather Strategic Cooperative Partnership” between Pakistan and China, while meetings with his Azerbaijani and Uzbek counterparts focused on strengthening bilateral cooperation.

Pakistan is set to assume the SCO Council of Heads of State chairmanship for 2026-27, under which it will lead the organisation’s top-level deliberations and host the SCO summit in Pakistan in 2027.