BISHKEK (TCA) — Germany’s Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who is also the chairman in office of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), discussed bilateral ties and regional and international issues with Kyrgyzstan President Almazbek Atambayev in Bishkek on March 31.
The press service of the Kyrgyz president said the talks focused on trade and economic cooperation between Kyrgyzstan and Germany, further strengthening of democracy and the freedom of speech in Kyrgyzstan, and the OSCE’s role in the development of democratic institutions in Kyrgyzstan.
From Bishkek, Steinmeier is traveling to Tajikistan, the last leg of his three-day Central Asian tour that began in Uzbekistan on March 30.
In Uzbekistan, Steinmeier underlined the country’s key role in the Central Asia region. Steinmeier was last in Tashkent for talks ten years ago. A lot had changed in the intervening time, he said, in Central Asia, Europe and the world. The German Foreign Minister also explicitly referred to collaborative efforts in relation to Afghanistan, thanking the Uzbek Government for their cooperation and the use of Termez airport in southern Uzbekistan, the German Foreign Ministry said.
Steinmeier affirmed the strategic importance of Central Asia, saying he meant that “in terms of politics, the economy and above all security”.
Ahead of the tour, Steinmeier described Central Asia as a “region of strategic importance” with “considerable risks to [global] stability.”
