Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of Kyrgyzstan Edil Baisalov took part in the round table «The root of the nation is the native language», which was held as part of the celebration of Mother Language Day on February 21.
According to him, the Cabinet confirms its commitment to protecting and promoting the native languages of all ethnic groups living in the republic.
«Representatives of more than 80 ethnic groups live in Kyrgyzstan. Article 13 of our Constitution defines Kyrgyz as the state language and Russian as the official language. Paragraph three of the same article says that representatives of all ethnic groups that make up the people of the Kyrgyz Republic are guaranteed the right to create conditions for the preservation, learning and development of the native language of all ethnic groups of our people,» the Deputy Prime Minister said.
He added that the state language policy of the country was aimed at developing a single civil identity «Kyrgyz zharany», preserving linguistic and national-cultural diversity.
