Acting Deputy Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan Ravshanbek Sabirov met with the European Union Special Representative for Central Asia Peter Burian. The Information Support Department of the Cabinet’s Executive Office reported.
They discussed joint plans for the current year and other issues of cooperation between Kyrgyzstan and the European Union. The acting Deputy Prime Minister noted that the Kyrgyz Republic attaches great importance to the initiative to hold the First Economic Forum European Union — Central Asia in Bishkek.
«The Kyrgyz side expects that a decision will be made in the final resolution of the forum to establish a secretariat with headquarters in Bishkek. The secretariat will prepare and hold regular annual forums in the capitals of different EU-CA cities, select and prepare country projects of a transboundary nature that are of interest to the entire region as a whole. I hope that this proposal will find support among our neighbors and in the European Union,» Ravshanbek Sabirov stressed.
According to him, Kyrgyzstan prioritizes transboundary projects on water resources, which would strengthen the integration processes in the region. Particular importance is attached to the water and energy balance in Central Asia. The selected regional projects must be implemented in the countries of the region.
«We have already started preparations for the economic forum. An organizing committee has been created to prepare and hold the forum, government agencies have been instructed to prepare and submit for consideration projects of transboundary nature and discuss them with their counterparts in the countries of Central Asia,» the acting Deputy Prime Minister added.
In turn, the Special Representative Peter Burian noted the similarity in the priorities of the European Union and Kyrgyzstan. This concerns the position in the field of green economy and digitalization.
«I see that the Kyrgyz side is actively working in this direction. In the future, we propose to work also in the field of the rule of law, on such relevant topic as human resources, upbringing, education, training in the development of skills in normative approaches and research, gender equality,» the Special Representative said.
In addition, Peter Burian stressed that the upcoming forum European Union — Central Asia would become an excellent dialogue platform for promotion of projects of regional importance.
