Kyrgyz Parliament Speaker receives US Ambassador to Kyrgyzstan

Bishkek, Jan. 29, 2019. /Kabar/. Speaker of the Jogorku Kenesh (Kyrgyz Parliament) Dastanbek Dzhumabekov received Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Kyrgyz Republic Donald Lu.

During the meeting, the sides discussed the current state of the political and economic cooperation between Kyrgyzstan and the USA, issues of inter-parliamentary partnership were also touched upon, the press service of the Jogorku Kenesh reported.

The Speaker congratulated Donald Lu on the start of his diplomatic mission in Kyrgyzstan and wished him success in his further work.

Dzhumabekov expressed interest of the Kyrgyz side in expanding the bilateral cooperation with the United States of America. “I express gratitude to the Government and the people of the United States for their support shown to Kyrgyzstan since our country gained its independence. Your support has made an invaluable contribution to strengthening statehood and building a democratic foundation. In particular, I consider the work of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in Kyrgyzstan to be fruitful. I hope the friendly relations between Kyrgyzstan and the United States will continue to develop in positively,” he added.

Moreover, the Speaker raised the issue of inter-parliamentary cooperation. “Apart from legislative and control activities, it is extremely important for us to maintain close ties with the US Congress in order to develop democratic principles in the country. It is also necessary to develop our cooperation in the framework of the Partnership for Democracy Commission and at the level of deputy friendship groups,” he added, and noted the significant role of the Open World Program under the Library of Congress.

The US Ambassador, in turn, thanked the Speaker for the warm welcome, and also added that in his diplomatic activity he would focus on the development of cooperation with the Jogorku Kenesh. He said that the American side is interested in expanding cooperation in all areas with Kyrgyzstan, which has chosen the path of development of parliamentary democracy; and stressed the need to raise the friendly relations between the two countries to a new level.

In addition, during the meeting, issues of simplifying the procedure for issuing visas for Kyrgyz citizens and expanding economic partnerships were discussed.