BISHKEK (TCA) — Germany’s Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel will pay an official visit to Kyrgyzstan on July 13 and 14, the press service of the Kyrgyz president said on July 7. It will be the German leader’s first visit to the Central Asian country.
Merkel will hold talks with Kyrgyzstan President Almazbek Atambayev to discuss bilateral ties, further deepening of Kyrgyz-German cooperation, as well as regional and international issues.
After their talks, Atambayev and Merkel will speak with journalists at a joint news conference in Bishkek.
During her visit, the German Chancellor is also scheduled to meet with Kyrgyz parliamentarians headed by Parliament Speaker Chynybai Tursunbekov, as well as representatives of the country’s civil society.
In March of this year, Germany’s Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier visited Kyrgyzstan and other Central Asian countries. The trip, the German Foreign Ministry said, focused on the fight against terrorism, regional cooperation, and economic ties.
Steinmeier discussed bilateral ties and regional and international issues with Kyrgyzstan President Almazbek Atambayev in Bishkek on March 31.
The talks focused on trade and economic cooperation between Kyrgyzstan and Germany, further strengthening of democracy and the freedom of speech in Kyrgyzstan.
Ahead of his Central Asia tour, Steinmeier described Central Asia as a “region of strategic importance” with “considerable risks to [global] stability.”
