US Ambassador Sheila Gwaltney’s farewell message

Bishkek, August 4 / Kabar /. US Ambassador Sheila Gwaltney sent a farewell message to the Kyrgyz people.

The US Embassy presents the text of the farewell message:

“After thirty-three years of service to the country that I love, the majority of which has been abroad, I have decided to move back to my family and my home state of California. Love of family is a value important to both the Kyrgyz and American people. It is time for me to be close to my loved ones.

I know and respect the Kyrgyz Republic for its great history, rich culture, natural beauty, and warm and hospitable people. Over the course of these two years in Kyrgyzstan, I received warm hospitality and made friends everywhere I have traveled. I have traveled widely in the Kyrgyz Republic. Everywhere I have been, I have had the pleasure to meet you and your fellow citizens, people who are warm, generous, and kind by nature. I have been deeply impressed by your hard work and great achievements to build a good life for your families and your country. I have met your amazing children and grandchildren and been deeply impressed by their energy, intelligence, and promise for the future. I will greatly miss you and your beautiful country.

It has been an incredible honor to represent the President of the United States as the U.S. Ambassador to the Kyrgyz Republic. Learning the language of Magnanimous Manas and embracing the generous spirit of the Kyrgyz people, I focused on strengthening mutual understanding between our nations. The long-term focus of the United States has always been to support and respect the Kyrgyz Republic’s sovereignty, territorial integrity, and independence.

While I will depart the Kyrgyz Republic to return home to my family, the tremendous hospitality and kindness of the Kyrgyz people will always stay with me. I will miss the amazing people I have met, and I will never forget the strong people-to-people connections our countries share. The people of the Kyrgyz Republic have a well-deserved reputation for their warm hospitality, for the care they take to turn strangers into friends, and friends into family. I am honored to have been welcomed as family. I thank you sincerely and wish you and your families all the very best.

Wherever I am, whatever I do, my heart will be beating for Kyrgyzstan”.