The course towards friendship with Russia has remained unchanged throughout the entire period of Kyrgyzstan's independence, the president of the republic, Sadyr Zhaparov, told RIA Novosti.
"The Russian Federation is our close, reliable ally, the friendship of our peoples is based on long-term trust and good relations tested by long time and history. Throughout the entire period of independence, this course continues to be unchanged in the foreign policy priorities of the Kyrgyz Republic," he said.
According to the head of state, interstate cooperation "is steadily developing in the spirit of allied relations and strategic partnership and meets the long-term interests of both countries. Zhaparov emphasizes that Kyrgyzstan and the Russian Federation "have established a substantive political dialogue at all levels, there is productive cooperation in various fields, which cover the foreign policy, military-technical, trade, economic, cultural, humanitarian and other areas of cooperation, as well as partnerships within the framework of the Eurasian integration processes".
"I especially want to emphasize that we attach great importance to the upcoming visit, which will undoubtedly give an additional impetus to the Kyrgyz-Russian relations and will lay the foundation for further effective political cooperation in an atmosphere of trust and understanding," the Kyrgyz leader said.
The new president of Kyrgyzstan will pay his first foreign visit to Russia on February 24-25. As previously reported, the Kyrgyz leader is scheduled to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin and Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matvienko.
Zhaparov won the January 10 election with more than 79 percent of the vote.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: IGOR KOVALENKO / EPA / TASS
Based on materials from RIA Novosti