Bishkek, Sept. 20, 2023. /Kabar/. On September 19, President of Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Zhaparov took part in the first Summit of Heads of State Central Asia and the USA in New York (USA).
The Summit was attended by President of the United States of America Joe Biden and the leaders of the Central Asian countries: Kazakhstan - Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Tajikistan - Emomali Rahmon, Turkmenistan - Serdar Berdimuhamedov, Uzbekistan - Shavkat Mirziyoyev.
US President Joe Biden opened the summit, after which all heads of state of Central Asia spoke.
In his speech, President Sadyr Zhaparov noted that the agenda and range of issues discussed between the parties are expanding. Cooperation with the United States, including within the C5+1 format, is one of the important areas of the country’s foreign policy.
“I believe that this format should be aimed at strengthening mutual understanding and trust, ensuring security and stability, as well as creating favorable conditions for expanding trade and economic cooperation. The global economy had not yet fully recovered from the negative impact of the coronavirus pandemic when it faced new shocks and instability.
In my opinion, in such crisis conditions, issues of ensuring, first of all, food and energy security, macroeconomic stability and social stability in the region require priority attention and coordinated activity from the Central Asian states,” Sadyr Zhaparov emphasized.
The president stated that the countries of our region have significant natural resources, large reserves of energy resources and minerals, as well as a qualified workforce.
“We advocate for a greater presence of foreign partners, including American businesses, in our country and in the region. We are ready for broad international cooperation in such key areas as the green economy, hydropower, IT technologies, employment and education. We are successfully implementing various projects, including infrastructure ones, in the fields of industry, agriculture, irrigation, and the transport and logistics system. We continue to modernize the country’s important transport arteries. A major regional rail project is planned. All these areas are of priority importance for us as a landlocked country,” said Sadyr Zhaparov.
The head of state outlined Kyrgyzstan’s intention to further expand bilateral trade and economic relations with the United States, the potential of which is far from being fully realized, as well as to work together with partners on regional issues.
He added that for the economic sustainability of any country, the development of the energy sector and uninterrupted energy supplies are a key condition.
“Our country has almost half of the region’s water resources. The hydropower potential of Kyrgyzstan is about 142.5 billion kWh per year, but no more than 13% is currently used. Kyrgyzstan also has great potential for various types of renewable energy sources. We encourage investors, international partners and financial institutions to invest in cooperation to implement projects for the construction of hydroelectric power stations and other renewable energy facilities. This year, we also put forward an initiative to restructure government external debt, including using the mechanism of exchanging it for projects in the field of green economy. We hope that the American side will assist in working with partners and international financial institutions,” Sadyr Zhaparov said.
The head of state also emphasized that it is impossible to discuss regional security issues in Central Asia in isolation from the situation in Afghanistan. In this regard, he expressed the interest of the Kyrgyz side in peace and stability in Afghanistan and maintaining good neighborly relations with this country.
In conclusion, Sadyr Zhaparov expressed hope that today’s meeting will give an important impetus to the further expansion of mutually beneficial cooperation between the Central Asian states and the United States.
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