Kyrgyz President and Indian Prime Minister meet in China

Bishkek, June 10, 2018. / Kabar /. President of Kyrgyzstan Sooronbay Jeenbekov met with Prime Minister of the Republic of India Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the 18th meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in Qingdao, China, the Kyrgyz President's press service reported.

Narendra Modi noted that the path of democracy chosen by Kyrgyzstan is an example and inspiration for many countries of the world. He also noted that he warmly remembers his visit to Kyrgyzstan in 2016, and a meeting with former President Almazbek Atambayev during his visit to India.

The high-level meetings, as the Prime Minister of India noted, contribute to strengthening bilateral cooperation.

Jeenbekov stressed that he was very pleased with the personal meeting, as well as the opportunity to exchange views on the current issues of developing friendly relations between Kyrgyzstan and India.

The President congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi on India's accession to the SCO.

"Kyrgyzstan attaches priority importance and advocates the building of friendly relations with India. It is gratifying to note the activation of mutual visits and meetings in the fields of international organizations and conferences, the positive dynamics of the development of bilateral relations in recent years," Jeenbekov said.

He stressed that the Kyrgyz side welcomes the forthcoming visit of Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Svaraj to Kyrgyzstan in August 2018.

President Jeenbekov recalled that the SCO chairmanship in Kyrgyzstan in 2019 passes to Kyrgyzstan, the next meeting of the heads of state will be held in Bishkek and invited Narendra Modi to pay an official visit to Kyrgyzstan, combining the participation in the SCO Summit.

Jeenbekov named the hydropower, healthcare, agriculture and the introduction of information and communication technologies in the activities of state bodies as priority areas of cooperation.

During the meeting, the head of state suggested that the Indian side jointly create an expert group to analyze the basis of bilateral cooperation in order to promote joint projects.

Modi supported Jeenbekov's initiative to create this expert group, noting that it is needed to discuss and implement concrete proposals for further bilateral cooperation in various areas of mutual interest.

The Prime Minister of India also expressed his readiness to assist in the implementation of projects on the introduction of electronic governance.