Finalising the series of bilateral meetings, Russian President Vladimir Putin held talks with President of the Kyrgyz Republic Sadyr Japarov, the head of the state chairing the SCO this year.
Russia was represented by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Deputy Prime Minister and Co-Chair of the Russian-Kyrgyz Intergovernmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technical and Humanitarian Cooperation Alexei Overchuk, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office Maxim Oreshkin, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office and Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov, Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Kyrgyz Republic Sergei Vakunov, Minister of Sport Mikhail Degtyarev, Minister of Energy Sergei Tsivilev, General Director and Board Chair of Russia Railways Oleg Belozerov and Director General of Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corporation Alexei Likhachev.
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President of the Kyrgyz Republic Sadyr Japarov: President Putin, welcome to the Kyrgyz Republic.
Our bilateral relations stand on a solid ground and constitute a strategic partnership. We value the high level of cooperation with the Russian Federation and are committed to strengthening and expanding our practical cooperation further.
Thank you for attending the SCO summit in Bishkek and for supporting Kyrgyzstan’s priorities during this SCO chairmanship.
I would like to praise the active engagement and the level of representation of Russian athletes at the 6th World Nomad Games. We appreciate Russia’s readiness to host the 7th World Nomad Games in 2028. Kyrgyzstan is ready to offer any necessary assistance to Russia with preparations for the future games.
President Putin, the Kyrgyz-Russian bilateral agenda has many dimensions and covers a broad range of issues. Today we have an opportunity to discuss the most relevant matters and outline next steps.
Energy is the priority area of our cooperation. I’d like to take this opportunity and thank you for Russia’s constructive approach to ensuring uninterrupted supply of fuel and lubricants to Kyrgyzstan. I am certain that following this meeting, we will be able to outline further steps to fulfill our agreements.
Mr President, the floor is yours.
President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Mr Japarov,
I am pleased to see you and to have this opportunity for joint work over the course of these days.
Allow me, once again – now in this more intimate setting – to extend my congratulations to you and to the entire Kyrgyz people on the state holiday that was celebrated yesterday – Independence Day.
I would like to underscore the significant work undertaken by Kyrgyzstan in preparing for the present session, the current summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. The volume of work has indeed been substantial. It is evident that the preparations have been thorough, and that everything has unfolded most successfully under Kyrgyzstan’s chairmanship.
With your direct involvement, important decisions have been reached concerning the further development and consolidation of the organisation. Following the summit, a number of key documents were adopted, including the Bishkek Declaration and the Protocol on Amendments and Additions to the SCO Charter. I am confident that this will provide a powerful impetus to the organisation’s activities and will serve to further enhance its international standing.
Russian-Kyrgyz relations of strategic partnership and alliance are developing successfully, grounded in longstanding traditions of friendship, mutual respect, and consideration for each other’s interests.
You and I personally oversee the principal issues of bilateral cooperation. This year, we shall also have an opportunity to meet at the summit of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation, as well as at the traditional pre-New Year meeting of the CIS leaders – which I hope will take place in St Petersburg, as has become our custom since recent years.
Russia remains among the republic’s foremost trade partners, accounting for over 26 percent of its foreign trade. Last year, bilateral trade increased by nearly 26 percent – precisely 25.9 percent – and from January to June of this year, it rose by a further 36 percent. These are strong results. Approximately 98 percent of all settlements are conducted in national currencies.
The accumulated Russian investment in Kyrgyzstan’s economy has exceeded $1.2 billion. More than two thousand enterprises with Russian capital are operating in your country. The intergovernmental commission is functioning effectively. The programme of economic cooperation for 2022–2026 is being implemented. In August, the Russian-Kyrgyz interregional conference and the Russian-Kyrgyz economic forum were held in Issyk-Kul. More than 80 constituent entities of the Russian Federation maintain ties with all seven regions of the republic.
We greatly appreciate your attention to supporting the Russian language, which enjoys official status in the republic. In 2023, together with you, we launched the construction of nine secondary schools in Kyrgyzstan with Russian as the language of instruction. We expect the first three schools to be ready for opening by September 1 of the next academic year, in 2027.
More than 10,000 Kyrgyz citizens are currently studying in Russia, while the Kyrgyz-Russian Slavic University in Bishkek accommodates a further 8,500 students.
We attach particular importance to security cooperation. The joint Russian military base deployed in the republic constitutes an important element for ensuring stability in the region.
We now have an excellent opportunity to discuss all these and other matters of mutual importance.
Thank you very much.
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