FARUKH SHEHZAD

ISLAMABAD, Nov 16: Ulanbek Totuiaev, Ambassador of Kyrgyzstan has said that the geostrategic location of his country offered great business opportunities to Pakistan while Pakistan was a gateway for Central Asian countries for better market access to outside world, therefore, Kyrgyzstan was keen to further promote economic cooperation with Pakistan to achieve mutually beneficial outcomes.

He said this while exchanging views with the business community during his visit to the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI).

The Envoy said that the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek had hosted a very successful second Kyrgyz-Pakistan business forum entitled "Pakistan and Kyrgyzstan in the Age of Socio-Economic Integration" in October this year and his embassy was interested to organize another Kyrgyz-Pakistan business forum in collaboration with ICCI in Islamabad or Bishkek to further strengthen the business linkages between the private sectors of both countries.

He said that Kyrgyzstan was a member of Eurasian Economic Union, which was a market of 180 million people and was also a beneficiary of the EU's GSP Plus. Thus close economic cooperation of Pakistan with Kyrgyzstan would be more beneficial for both countries. He also discussed a wide-range of areas for promoting trade and economic ties with Pakistan.

Speaking at the occasion, Shakeel Munir, President, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry said that Pakistan was focusing on Central Asia for trade & exports and close cooperation with Kyrgyzstan would help it in getting better market access to this important region.

He said that Kyrgyzstan was rich in hydropower generation and it can cooperate with Pakistan in this field. He said that Pakistan could export many products to Kyrgyzstan including marble & granite, pharmaceuticals, textiles, surgical instruments, food products, sports goods, leather products, IT, engineering goods and Kyrgyzstan should increase its imports from Pakistan to provide good quality products at competitive prices to its consumers.

He said that both countries have good potential to cooperate in the tourism sector for mutual benefit. He said that ICCI would consider organizing a Pak-Kyrgyz business forum in collaboration with Kyrgyz Embassy.

Jamshaid Akhtar Sheikh, Senior Vice President ICCI said that Pakistan and Kyrgyzstan should encourage direct commercial flights between their major cities that would help in promoting business relations between the two countries.

Faheem Khan, Vice President ICCI stressed for frequent exchange of trade delegations between Pakistan and Kyrgyzstan to explore new avenues of trade promotion.

Akhtar Hussain, Ch. Ashraf Farzand, Asher Hafeez and others also spoke at the occasion and shared useful ideas for promoting trade and economic relations between Pakistan and Kyrgyzstan.

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BISHKEK, OCT 23: Kyrgyzstan is becoming the latest buyer of renowned Turkish combat drones in an effort to rev up its defense industry capabilities, a senior official announced.

Kamchybek Tashiev, the deputy prime minister of Kyrgyzstan and chairperson of the State Committee for National Security, said they placed an order to buy Turkish drone magnate Baykar-made Bayraktar TB2 unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs).

The Central Asian nation will be taking the delivery of the drones soon, Tashiev told reporters.

“We purchase military equipment to boost our troops. The relevant funds have been already allocated from the budget. Turkey is currently constructing Bayraktar drones for us,” he noted.

Noting that a limited number of countries in the world possess Turkish armed drones, Tashiev said “Kyrgyzstan will be one of them.”

The Bayraktar TB2 is a medium-altitude long-endurance aerial vehicle capable of remotely controlled or autonomous flight operations. It is manufactured by one of the leading Turkish defense companies Baykar.

“The drones will soon arrive in our country,” Tashiev said. He noted that Bishkek also purchased Orlan-10 drones from Russia.

Kyrgyzstan’s purchase comes amid growing interest in the Turkish UCAVs after their successful use in international conflicts.

Earlier this week, Turkey announced Angola had requested to acquire its drones, a week after it was reported to have expanded the export of the aerial vehicles by negotiating deals with Morocco and Ethiopia.

This was followed by a statement from Industry and Technology Minister Mustafa Varank, who also last week said Turkey had presented options to the U.K., which is “very interested” in buying Turkish-made armed drones.

Ukraine and Turkey’s NATO partner Poland have also ordered the UCAVs, which military experts say are cheaper than market rivals made in Israel, China and the United States.

The Bayraktar TB2 entered the Turkish army’s inventory in 2014 and is currently used by several other countries including Qatar and Azerbaijan.

The cutting-edge vehicles were effectively used over the years in cross-border counterterror military operations such as Euphrates Shield, Olive Branch and Spring Shield to liberate areas near the Syrian border from terrorist groups.

Turkish drones are also said to have played a crucial role in last year’s six-week conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

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Courtesy Daily Sabah

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Farukh Shehzad/Editor-in-Chief

PESHAWAR, SEPT 23: On the working trip to Peshawar, Ambassador of Kyrgyz Republic Ulanbek Totuiaev met with the President of Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry Sherbaz Ilyas Ghazanfar Bilour and the President of the Industrialist’s Association of Peshawar Malik Imran Ishaq.

During the visit of the Kyrgyz ambassador to Peshawar, it was decided that Pakistan and Kyrgyzstan will jointly work to boost business opportunities in the days to come.

Ambassador Ulanbek was also briefed about the latest undertaking development projects in Peshawar. The entire meeting was held in a very friendly environment.

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RIYADH, MAY 9: The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman has sent a cable of congratulation to President Sadyr Japarov of the Kyrgyz Republic on the anniversary of his country's Victory Day.

The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques wished the president constant good health and happiness and the government and people of Kyrgyzstan steady progress and prosperity.

Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman, deputy prime minister and minister of defense, has sent a cable of congratulation to President Sadyr Japarov of the Kyrgyz Republic on the anniversary of his country's Victory Day.

In his cable, the Crown Prince wished the president constant good health and happiness and the government and people of Kyrgyzstan steady progress and prosperity.

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COURTESY saudigazette

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