Askar Akayev, Kyrgyzstan’s first president after independence, who fled the country during the March Revolution in 2005, said at the anniversary Issyk-Kul International Forum that current President Sadyr Japarov should be given additional time in office.
He said the people of Kyrgyzstan are capable of achieving an economic miracle within the next decade.
«Our people elected Sadyr Japarov president at a difficult time, when the economy was in deep stagnation and socio-political tensions were at their peak. But today Kyrgyzstan’s economy is steadily growing, and positive trends are also visible in the social sphere, although they will be felt with a delay of three to five years.
First comes growth, and only then do people begin to reap its benefits. Such are the laws of economics,» Akayev said.
He also touched on the construction of China—Kyrgyzstan—Uzbekistan railway and Kyrgyzstan’s election as a member of the UN Security Council.
In conclusion, Askar Akayev said that «the people of Kyrgyzstan would act wisely if they grant an additional mandate to current President Sadyr Japarov for the practical implementation of the plan to achieve the Kyrgyz economic miracle.»
In his view, achieving such an economic breakthrough would require at least eight to ten years.
Askar Akayev fled Kyrgyzstan on March 24, 2005, during the March Revolution, and formally resigned on April 3 of that year. Following those events, he returned to Kyrgyzstan only in 2021 to testify in the Kumtor case.
