The visit of Kyrgyz President Sadir Zhaparov to Pakistan was his first bilateral visit to Pakistan, and was the first by any Kyrgyz President in 23 years. However, there was a multilateral dimension, as the main item on the visit There were several MoUs signed between Pakistani companies and visiting Kyrgyz businessmen, but the focus remained on CASA-1000, the ambitious quadrilateral hydroelectric project, whereby Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan would produce hydroelectricity and export upto 1300 MW to Pakistan and upto 300 MW to Afghanistan. This represents another energy corridor from Central Asia to Pakistan, joining Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan. Turkmenistan sits on top of the fifth largest natural gas reserves in the world, and it proposes a pipeline to India, passing through Pakistan, the TAPI (Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India) pipeline, which is stalled mainly because India is uncomfortable with the idea of part of its energy supply passing through Pakistan. Kazakhstan possesses the second largest deposits of uranium in the world, and is already the largest producer of uranium. It does not sell any yet to Pakistan, but could prove a valuable resource in a post-fossil-fuel era. However, the CASA-1000 is a much more immediate prospect, with work proceeding apace, and completion scheduled for the end of next year. One difficulty with the project is that it will export during the summer, when the rivers are highest, and when Pakistan’s own hydel generation is at its maximum. However, as demand increases, Central Asian hydel would allow turning off expensive thermal generation, with the additional benefit that there would be a foreign exchange saving in terms of lower fuel imports. (This would have to balanced against the foreign exchange payments that would have to made to Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan for their hydel, so it would make sense of increase trade with them, and to develop a surplus to cover the cost of hydel.
As was decided in July, the two countries have targeted a bilateral trade of $100 million. This will go hand-in-hand with other efforts to increase people-to-people contacts, including Pakistan’s easing of visa restrictions for Krgyz travellers. Another dimension of the relationship is how it links up Pakistan with yet another member of the Turkic States Organization. Both countries are thus linked to Turkiye, thus providing yet another link. The two also have a mutual neighbour in Afghanistan, and have an interest in its not spreading instability in the region.
