Deepening of mutually beneficial cooperation with the closest neighbors is one of top priorities of the foreign policy of Kyrgyzstan. Close cooperation of the Central Asian states plays a key role in ensuring security and sustainable development of the region.
Kyrgyzstan President Sadyr Japarov made the remarks while addressing the First Central Asia-European Union Summit on April 4 in Samarkand, The Caspian Post reports citing foreign media.
"We have signed a historic agreement with Uzbekistan on formalization of the state border in 2022. The Kyrgyz-Tajik border has been completely formalized now," the said.
"During a recent historic visit of President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon to Bishkek, the treaty on the state border was signed, which was ratified on March 25," the President added.
This important event was received with great enthusiasm by both the peoples of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan and the wider international community, symbolizing a new stage in the development of bilateral relations based on mutual trust, respect and the desire for peaceful coexistence, Sadyr Japarov said.
He recalled that in continuation of strengthening measures to ensure peace and stability in the region, a trilateral meeting of the Presidents of Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan was held on March 31, where a trilateral agreement on the point of intersection of the state borders of the three countries was signed.
The head of state lauded the steady growth of trade and economic ties between the countries of Central Asia and the European Union.
"Over the past four years, Kyrgyzstan's trade turnover with the countries of the European Union has increased by 2.4 times, including imports - by 2.6 times, exports - by 1.5 times. Such successes have become possible thanks to the openness of markets and the Generalized System of Preferences Plus initiative, which provides access for goods from Kyrgyzstan to the markets of 27 EU member states," President Sadyr Japarov said.
He emphasized that Kyrgyzstan’s strategic geographical location and its growing transit potential open up broad prospects for trade and investment and called on European businesses to take an active part in these projects on a mutually beneficial basis.
"We invite European partners to join large-scale hydropower projects being implemented in Kyrgyzstan. The flagship Kambar-Ata-1 HPP project occupies a special place in our plans. We have already begun construction of this large hydropower plant with capacity of 1,860 MW and a projected output of 5.6 billion kWh per year. This project is being implemented jointly with our neighbors Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan," the President said.
The head of state also said that Kyrgyzstan is interested in expanding cooperation with the European Union in the field of renewable energy and energy-efficient technologies.
"Over the past year, we have commissioned 18 small hydropower plants, and this year we are building another 15 such plants. At the same time, we have launched solar energy projects with a total capacity of over 400 MW. In the context of global climate change, the transition to a "green" economy and the development of renewable energy sources is our only path to sustainable development," said Sadyr Japarov.
President Japarov welcomed the initiative of the European Union to invest 10 billion Euros in the development of sustainable transport connectivity in Central Asia.
"Another promising area of cooperation is the development of critical raw materials. Kyrgyzstan has significant reserves of rare and precious metals. We propose to intensify cooperation in this area, formalizing it in the format of a separate partnership or "road map", similar to what has already been done between the European Union and some of our neighbors (Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan)," the head of state said.
In conclusion, Sadyr Japarov emphasized that Kyrgyzstan intends to deepen partnership with the European Union in all of the above areas and expressed confidence that new specific agreements will emerge as a result of today's meeting, which will give additional impetus to relations between Central Asia and the European Union.
