Cesare De Montis: European Union pledged to provide Kyrgyzstan with €184 mln within seven years

The European Union pledged to provide Kyrgyzstan with €184 million within seven years, the Ambassador, Head of the EU Delegation to the Kyrgyz Republic Cesare De Montis said today at the briefing.

"We made a quantitative and qualitative progress in aid. We are not a bank, don't give loans, but provide assistance to the country. We are the only donors who provide budgetary support to the country by providing cash, and it plays a very important role for the budget of the Kyrgyz Republic. We decided to focus on three main sectors - the rule of law; education; industrial activity and improvement of life quality in rural areas," he said.

"According to the Ministry of Finance of the Kyrgyz Republic, since 1992 the Public Investment Program provides financial assistance to the country in the amount of $184 million 409.5 thousand, including grants - 105 million 197.47 thousand, loans - 85 million 25.7 thousand. In accordance with the multi-annual indicative program (MIP) for 2014-2020 bilateral assistance EU KR will increase by 74 percent compared with the previous period (2007-2013) and was 184 million euros. According to the Ministry of Economy, the indicators of turnover of the Kyrgyz Republic - EU reached $678.6 million in 2014, while the share of EU countries in the turnover of the Kyrgyz Republic is about 9 percent," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs informed.

It is noted that during the upcoming working visit of President Almazbek Atambayev in the EU institutions (Brussels) it is planned to sign a financial agreement between the Kyrgyz Republic and the EU budget support programs in the social sector 2015-2016 and the agreement between the European Investment Bank and the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic on cooperation on CASA-1000 project.

Recall, from March 22 to April 1, a tour of the Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev in a number of European countries (Austria, Belgium, France, Switzerland, Germany) will take place.