(MENAFN- Trend News Agency) BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan, December 4. Kyrgyzstan and Pakistan discuss advancing the CASA-1000 energy project, a strategic initiative aimed at linking Central and South Asia's power grids, Trend reports via the Kyrgyz president's press service.

This was announced during the briefing after the meeting between Kyrgyz President Sadyr Zhaparov and Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif.

The leaders also addressed enhancing trade, transport, and transit connectivity, as well as expanding cooperation in education, science, and security. Zhaparov invited Sharif to attend Kyrgyzstan's chairmanship of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in 2026 and put out a reciprocal invitation for a state visit to Kyrgyzstan, marking a new chapter in bilateral relations.

The CASA-1000 project is a $1.2 billion initiative designed to transmit 1,300 megawatts (MW) of surplus summer hydropower from Central Asia (Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan) to South Asia (Afghanistan and Pakistan). The total length of the required transmission line infrastructure is approximately 1,387 km.

The project, which officially broke ground in 2016, has faced delays but is now projected by participating countries to be fully operational by the end of 2026 or early 2027.

Once operational, the project will be a major new revenue source for Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, supplying up to 4.6 billion kilowatt hours (kWh) of clean, seasonal power annually, a volume that constitutes approximately 5% of Pakistan's annual electricity consumption.

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