Gilani vows to boost trade, energy ties with Kyrgyzstan

ISLAMABAD: Acting President and Senate Chairman Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani met Kyrgyzstan’s ambassador on Friday and reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to strengthening bilateral ties, particularly in energy, connectivity, trade, and education.

Gilani received the Ambassador of the Kyrgyz Republic to Pakistan Avazbek Atakhanov, and both sides held discussions on reinforcing bilateral relations and exploring avenues of mutual cooperation.

The Acting President underscored deep historical and cultural ties between Pakistan and Kyrgyz Republic, emphasising the shared values of faith, history, and cultural affinity.

He reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to strengthening relations across multiple domains, particularly energy, connectivity, trade, and education, said the Senate Secretariat.

The Kyrgyz ambassador expressed his gratitude for the warm reception and highlighted the Kyrgyz Republic’s commitment to enhancing collaboration in key areas of mutual interest. Both sides discussed an extensive range of topics, focusing on advancing bilateral cooperation in diverse fields.

Separately, the Acting President said Pakistan places its bilateral relations with the Republic of Rwanda at high esteem, and there is need to further expand collaboration between the two in diverse sectors for mutual benefits of the people of two sides.

The High Commissioner of the Republic of Rwanda, Ms. Harerimana Fatou called on the Acting President at Aiwan-e-Sadr. During the meeting, discussions took place on a range of topics, including bilateral trade, agriculture, parliamentary cooperation, health, defense, sports accessories, and various other diverse matters.

The Acting President highlighted that bilateral trade currently stands at 29.66 million dollars, with Pakistan’s exports mainly comprising rice and pharmaceutical and textile products.

He emphasised the need for exploring new avenues to strengthen this relationship, particularly enhancing bilateral trade. Additionally, he stressed the importance of implementing various MoUs signed in different fields and further enhancing bilateral relations with the Republic of Rwanda. Strengthening people-to-people connections through parliamentary exchanges was also underscored.

The Acting President mentioned the formation of the Pakistan-Rwanda Friendship Group in the Senate and emphasised the potential for high-level parliamentary exchanges to improve government-to-government and people-to-people ties.

He also suggested using parliamentary diplomacy to further bolster cooperation in areas like rice production and sports. Soccer, being the main sport in Rwanda, presents an opportunity for Pakistan to export soccer-related products to the country, he further stated.

Moreover, he pointed out Pakistan’s high-quality rice production and expressed the possibility of exploring more MoUs in the health and defense sectors. The Acting President also highlighted the quality of Pakistani mangoes and identified large sectors for potential collaboration, such as in e-governance.

The Acting President noted that Pakistan has supported Rwanda in international forums, including support to Rwanda’s candidature in the International Court of Justice and Rwanda in reciprocation supported Pakistan in the Human Rights Council 2020.