By NNN-APP
Bishkek : Pakistan and Kyrgyzstan Friday agreed to convene a meeting of their Joint Working Group to expedite study of import of electricity, while also discussing prospects for providing a terminal to the Kyrgyz Republic at Gwadar Port.
The meeting between Foreign Minister Khurshid M Kasuri and his Kyrgyz counterpart Ednana Karabaev here in the Kyrgyz capital covered in detail their bilateral ties and regional and international issues.
Pakistan also discussed import of electricity from Kyrgyzstan and agreed to convene a meeting of their Joint Working Group of their Ministries of Water and Power and Energy to study the import.
The Foreign Minister probed the possibility of import of hydro-electricity from Kyrgyzstan, since it has the potential to export hydro power.
Foreign Minister underscored the need to tackle this problem on a fast track basis since Pakistan faces major electricity shortages due to fast economic growth during the last 7 years.
Foreign Minister Khurshid M.Kasuri in his meeting took stock of bilateral relations noted with satisfaction the excellent political understanding that characterizes ties between the two countries.
However, they stressed the need for giving greater economic and commercial substance to relations.
The Foreign Minister of Kyrgyzstan conveyed keen interest of his country to acquire a terminal for Kyrgyz imports at Gwadar and said that a detailed proposal outlining the Kyrgyz request would be conveyed to Pakistan shortly.
The Foreign Minister agreed, in principle, to the request of the Kyrgyz side and underscored that the main purpose of building Gwadar port is to provide trade and transportation corridors to the land-locked Central Asian states.
The two sides further agreed to remove bottlenecks pertaining to issuance of visas for transporters under the Quadrilateral Agreement for traffic in transit.
The Quadri-lateral Agreement was signed between Pakistan, People’s Republic of China, Kyrgyz Republic and Kazakhstan in August 1995 to promote trade among the signatory states through Karakoram Highway.
The Agreement became effective from May 2004 however the transporters still face problems concerning visas which impede growth of trade among these countries.
In response to a request by Foreign Minister Kasuri, the Kyrgyz Foreign Minister Karabaev, promised to facilitate the admission of Pakistani students to the prestigious Kyrgyz medical Academy.
Currently, there are over 400 Pakistani students studying in Kyrgyz Medical Academy in Bishkek and the Medical University of Osh on self finance basis.
There are also 50 students in the Kyrgyz International University (Medical Faculty) in Bishkek. The medical faculty of this University was established in 2004 to attract Pakistani students through so-called contractors or educational consultants.
Since this Medical Faculty lacks normal facilities for medical education, these Pakistani students want to migrate to Kyrgyz Medical Academy.
In response to a request by the Foreign Minister, the Kyrgyz Foreign Minister, Ednan Karabaev, promised to facilitate the admission of Pakistani students in the prestigious Kyrgyz Medical Academy.