There are no political contradictions between Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kyrgyz Republic, Jeenbek Kulubaev, said during negotiations with the Deputy Prime Minister-Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan, Murat Nurtleu, who was in Bishkek on an official visit on January 29th, 24.kz reported.
Minister Kulubaev emphasized that Kazakhstan is an important reliable partner and ally for Kyrgyzstan.
The foreign ministers discussed the entire range of bilateral relations: political, economic, and humanitarian cooperation, and found mutual understanding on every point, including the pressing issue of border crossings between the neighboring countries.
Particular attention was paid to expanding mutually beneficial cooperation in the areas of attracting mutual investments, transport and logistics, energy, and water resources.
Murat Nurtleu said that both sides have a vision and proposals that will help speed up the passage of all goods and services across the common border. The Kazakh minister emphasized that the government of Kazakhstan is making every effort to ensure that trade turnover between the two states increases and people can easily communicate between the two states. $1.3 billion is the current level of bilateral trade turnover, and the plan set by the top leadership of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan is to increase this figure to $2 billion. Kazakh investors are ready to invest $70 million in the economy of Kyrgyzstan to implement joint projects. Next in line is the construction of a solar power plant with a capacity of 50 megawatts with the participation of Kazakh entrepreneurs and the construction of a joint industrial trade and logistics center in the border area in Kyrgyzstan’s Chui region, Nurtleu said.
An important event in bilateral relations in 2024 will be the official visit of the President of Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Japarov to Kazakhstan, scheduled for April.
Irrigation water remains an issue in Kazakh-Kyrgyz relations. Last summer, the southern regions of Kazakhstan experienced a severe shortage of irrigation water for their fields, while upstream Kyrgyzstan also lacked water and could not supply enough water to its neighbor.
In December, Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov said that the water problem would be solved through the construction of so-called ten-day and daily regulation pools. Such reservoirs will allow for the accumulation of water in winter and for it to be freely shared with neighbors downstream. The construction of such reservoirs, the president explained, will meet the needs of Kyrgyzstan and, in addition, there will also be enough water to supply to downstream Kazakhstan.
Photo: Kazakh Foreign Ministry
