Spokesman Report Photo by Raja Farid
Islamabad: Ambassador of Kyrgyz Republic H.E Ulanbek Totuiaev has said that Kyrgyz Republic is gateway for Pakistani business community to reach and benefit from Eurasian Economic Union, with a population of 180 Million.There is an excellent opportunity for rapid growth of interaction between the two countries in trade-economic, investment and cultural spheres.Ambassador said this in his keynote address at a forum “Pakistan Kyrgyzstan Relations – Present Status and Way Forward” hosted by Mr. Tazeen Akhtar of International Journal “Pakistan in the World”.
Dean of Diplomatic Corp ,Ambassador Turkmenistan H.E Atadjan Movlamov, Ambassador Azerbaijan H.E Khazar Farhadov, President Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce Mr. Saqib Rafiq, , Former Chairperson National Commission of Rights of Child Afshan Tehseen Bajwa, Chairperson COPAIR, Aamna Awan, Naveed Ahmad Khan, Rubab Tabassum were also present.Rector of Salymbekov University of Bishkek Mr. Esengaldi Zhumadilov and Vice President of the University also attended the forum. Dr. Ghulam Ali Mallah, Executive Direction Inter-board Coordination Commission IBCC, Mr. Ateeq Virk Director Virtual University Islamabad and Mr. Tayyab Chatha, Education Expert talked on the opportunities in education sector.
Kyrgyzstan is actively developing country with liberal laws, where the new initiatives are every day being implemented for the growth of the nation and fruitful cooperation with foreign partners.
Ambassador Totuiaev shed light on the topic as well as the perspectives of Kyrgyz-Pakistani cooperation in various spheres. He said,”Kyrgyzstan and Pakistan are linked by warm bonds of friendship and cooperation, which are based on close historical, cultural and religious ties.Pakistani companies might be interested in opening ventures and investing into various projects on the territory of the Kyrgyz Republic, which will provide them an excellent opportunity for growth of capital and obtaining access to the market of Eurasian Economic Union.”
Ambassador shared, “Pakistani companies might be interested in opening ventures and investing into various projects in Kyrgyz Republic, which will provide them an excellent opportunity for growth of capital and obtaining access to 180 Million people market of Eurasian Economic Union.
“Especially fruitful can be investment to the projects in hydro power plants, as well as projects in developing renewable energy sources, taking into consideration rich water resources of Kyrgyz Republic and it’s membership to CASA-1000 project, which is aimed to bring surplus electricity from Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan hydro power stations in summer times to Pakistan through the territory of Afghanistan.”
Mr. Totuiaev added, “Kyrgyz and Pakistani entrepreneurs can definitely have mutually beneficial cooperation in textile, pharmaceutical, construction, mining, agriculture, food industry, tourism and many other spheres, increasing bilateral trade volumes and opening joint ventures.”
One of the major obstacles for the development of trade-economic connection as well as the cooperation between countries of the region, is the difficulties with logistic roots. The projects of construction of railway connection between Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and China, between Uzbekistan and Pakistan through Afghanistan can be helpful in this regard.
Ambassador suggested Pakistani businessmen to more actively use the potential of the Quadrilateral Transit Transport Agreement between Pakistan, China, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, which provides a shortest road link through Kyrgyzstan to Central Asian states and further to Russia and Europe. At the same time, Pakistan can play a vital role as a gateway for Central Asian states providing the shortest way to the open sea.
Kyrgyzstan , last year has opened trade house in Lahore and also working on opening electronic trade platforms. Ambassador is hopeful that similar trade houses will be opened in other large cities of Pakistan, such as Karachi. Several Pakistani businessmen are already successfully working in Kyrgyzstan, making investments in such spheres as air companies, education, construction, textile and production of construction materials.
Ambassador stressed that today the world is passing through difficult times, taking into consideration, for example, conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Due to this, we can assume, that there may be significant geopolitical changes with the division of the world into two parts.
In this regards, I consider it important for the countries of the region to unite and more actively cooperate in political, economic and cultural dimensions in order to create stable and prosperous regional interconnections. Therefore, I call Pakistani businessmen and investors to actively cooperate with Kyrgyzstan. Ambassador invited the Pakistani business circles to more actively interact with Kyrgyz businessman because such cooperation can be beneficial for both sides.
Today the government of Kyrgyzstan is actively working on the development of economic sphere and promotion of the investment climate of the country, especially, in terms of attracting governments of foreign countries and countries from abroad for active and fruitful cooperation with Kyrgyzstan.
In order to perform these goals, the National agency for investments under the President of the Kyrgyz Republic started working in the country, which is intended to have cooperation with all foreign investors in order to successfully implement perspective projects in different spheres on the territory of the Kyrgyz Republic.