President of Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Japarov received the EU Special Representative for Central Asia Terhi Hakala and the EU Special Representative for Human Rights Eamon Gilmore. Press service of the head of state reported.
Sadyr Japarov noted that Kyrgyzstan is interested in the further development of multifaceted cooperation with the European Union, which is an important foreign policy partner of the country. He added that he intends to visit Brussels and discuss with the EU leadership the entire spectrum of the joint partnership agenda. The head of the Kyrgyz Republic outlined trade and economic ties, investments, financial and technical cooperation as priority areas of joint work.
The parties agreed to hold the First Central Asia — European Union Economic Forum at a high level, which will be held on November 5, 2021 in Bishkek. It will be attended by the leaders of the Central Asian states and the European Union, representatives of business and financial institutions.
Touching upon the topics of democracy, human rights and civil society, Sadyr Japarov stressed that great attention is paid to these issues and freedom of speech in the republic. Media representatives are not harassed for their opinions.
Kyrgyzstan does not intend to deviate from the democratic path.
Taking this opportunity, the President invited EU observers to take part in monitoring the upcoming parliamentary elections in the country and once again expressed his readiness for active dialogue and interaction with European partners, including within the framework of the EU strategy in Central Asia.
The EU Special Representative for Central Asia Terhi Hakala noted that bilateral and multilateral cooperation between Kyrgyzstan and the EU is at a high level. For its part, the European Union is ready to continue intensive interaction. She stressed that the European side expects Sadyr Japarov’s visit to the EU in 2021. Speaking about regional security, Terhi Hakala expressed support for the initiatives of the Kyrgyz side to provide humanitarian assistance to the people of Afghanistan.
In turn, EU Special Representative for Human Rights Eamon Gilmore spoke with satisfaction about Kyrgyzstan’s leadership in democratic reforms and the state of human rights in the republic. The European side, taking into account the big plans in joint work, once again expressed their readiness and interest in fruitful and comprehensive cooperation on all issues of mutual interest.
