On January 15th, the President of the Kyrgyz Republic, Sadyr Japarov received the Vice-President of the European Commission, Margaritis Schinas in Bishkek. During the meeting, President Japarov noted the dynamically developing level of cooperation between Kyrgyzstan and the EU both at the inter-regional and bilateral levels, the presidential press service reported.
The head of state and the vice-president of the European Commission discussed a wide range of issues, including priority projects for the Kyrgyz Republic, investment, financing, prospects for banking relations, and regional security issues. Japarov paid particularly attention to the importance for Kyrgyzstan of the upcoming Investors Forum for EU-Central Asia Transport Connectivity, which will be held in Brussels on January 29th and 30th.
Discussing human rights in Kyrgyzstan, Japarov spoke of an active civil society, media freedom and unrestricted access to the internet, emphasizing the importance of reliable information in online space. In turn, Schinas spoke about the importance of positive changes in Central Asia and expressed the EU’s readiness to deepen cooperation with the Kyrgyz Republic.
Schinas expressed confidence that cooperation will be strengthened in the field of financial and economic partnerships, adding that his visit was focused on climate projects, digitization issues, and the development of transport corridors.
In June 2023, the first official visit of the President of the European Council, Charles Michel to the Kyrgyz Republic took place, and the first Summit of the leaders of Central Asian countries and the EU was held in the Kyrgyz resort city of Cholpon-Ata.
