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Doha, June 06 (QNA) – HH the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, arrived in Bishkek on a state visit to the Kyrgyz Republic, during which His Highness held talks session with HE President of the Kyrgyz Republic Sadyr Japarov, pertaining the bilateral relations between the two friendly countries and ways to support and enhance them in various fields. The talks session also addressed raising the level of consultation and coordination between Doha and Bishkek in international forums regarding various current issues of mutual interest, in addition to issues affecting international security and stability.
The visit of HH the Amir to Bishkek and the discussions, agreements and memorandums of understanding to be signed, is expected to contribute to supporting and developing relations between the two countries and opening new horizons for them, which will strengthen ties and relations as well as cooperation between the two parties, and contribute to finding more promising opportunities for signing new investment and development partnerships between the public and private sectors of the two countries, depending on the available capabilities and facilities provided by the two countries for foreign investments.
The friendship and cooperation relations between the two countries are characterized as strong and solid relations that reflect the keenness of the leaderships of the two countries to develop them in various fields.
Diplomatic relations between the two countries were established on March 3, 1998, and the Qatari embassy was opened in Bishkek on Oct. 2, 2012. Ambassador of the State of Qatar to the Kyrgyz Republic presented his credentials to HE President of the Kyrgyz Republic on Oct. 30, 2013, and the Kyrgyz Republic opened its embassy in Doha in September 2015, while HE Ambassador of the Kyrgyz Republic presented his credentials to HH the Amir on March 3, 2016.
Since that date, relations between the two friendly countries have developed at a rapid pace, as official visits were intensively exchanged at various levels. In this context, HE the former Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev paid two visits to Doha during the years 2014 and 2015, where HH Amir received him and held official talks with him on bilateral relations between the two countries and ways to enhance, support and develop them in various fields, especially economic and investment, in addition to reviewing several issues of mutual interest.
HH the Amir and HE the former Kyrgyz President witnessed the signing of several agreements and memoranda of understanding between the governments of the two countries. HE President of the Kyrgyz Republic Sadyr Japarov, visited Doha on December 2022 to attend the final match of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, which brought together the national teams of France and Argentina at Lusail Stadium.
HE Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani, paid a visit to the Kyrgyz Republic in September 2015, during which he discussed bilateral relations between the two friendly countries and ways to support and enhance them, especially in the economic field. His Excellency also headed the delegation of the State of Qatar to discuss investment opportunities in the Kyrgyz Republic, which included representatives of the Ministry of Economy and Commerce, Qatar Investment Authority, Qatar Fund for Development (QFFD) and Qatar Mining Company. During the visit, Qatar’s delegation met with representatives of investment agencies in Kyrgyz Republic, representatives of the Ministries of Energy and Agriculture, the Municipality, the Minerals Company, the State Committee for Minerals and the National Bank, representatives of these companies presented areas in which the State of Qatar can invest, especially in the fields of agriculture, mining and energy.
The exchanged and extensive official visits also included ministers representing the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Culture, Sports, Interior Affairs, Civil Defense, Tourism, and Information.
Relations between the two countries are regulated by a set of agreements and memoranda of understanding that include political, economic, commercial, industrial, tourism, educational, civil aviation, and mutual exemption of entry visas for holders of diplomatic and private passports, encouragement and protection of mutual investments and twinning between Doha and Bishkek, news exchange between Qatar News Agency and Kyrgyz National News Agency, avoidance of double taxation and prevention of financial evasion with regard to taxes on income.
In the political context, two rounds of political consultations were held between the two countries, the first in Bishkek in February 2018, and the second in Doha in January 2019. The rounds dealt with ways to strengthen and develop bilateral cooperation relations in all areas of mutual interest and discussed the latest developments in the regional and international arenas.
On the economic side, in March 2017, the first session of the Qatari-Kyrgyz Joint Committee on Economic, Commercial and Technical Cooperation, was held in Doha, during which official talks were held and aspects of cooperation in various sectors of mutual interest between the two friendly countries were discussed.
The meeting came as an embodiment of the mutual keenness between the two countries to strengthen bilateral relations and push them to broader horizons in all fields in a way that meets the aspirations and serves the common interests of the two countries. In April 2017, Qatar Chamber hosted a Kyrgyz trade delegation to discuss ways to strengthen economic relations, present available investment opportunities, and discuss establishing business partnerships between Qatari businesspersons and their Kyrgyz counterparts in various fields.
First Vice-Chairperson of Qatar Chamber Mohamed bin Ahmed bin Twar Al Kuwari said that Qatar and the Kyrgyz Republic enjoy good relations and seek to develop them to higher levels. The Chamber welcomed the increased cooperation between businesspersons in both countries in various sectors, calling on Kyrgyz companies to have a stronger presence in the Qatari market.
Al Kuwari noted that Qatari laws and legislation have contributed to encouraging investment in Doha, and he urged businesspersons to take advantage of these elements and work to increase the volume of trade exchange between the two countries according to the capabilities that each possesses.
The State of Qatar has provided medical aid to the Kyrgyz Republic to help it confront the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and to support the health sector in the Kyrgyz Republic to confront the effects of the COVID pandemic and to strengthen the friendly relations between the two countries.
Based on its humanitarian mission in the friendly Kyrgyz Republic, and in cooperation with Qatar Charity, the State of Qatar is implementing many humanitarian and development projects and programs in the Kyrgyz Republic, including building health centers, schools, homes for the poor, economic empowerment projects, water projects and childcare, as well as implementing a set of relief interventions in both the health sector and the food security sector. The Qatar Red Crescent has also implemented many humanitarian projects in the Kyrgyz Republic.
In June 2021, the Kyrgyz Republic honored Qatar Charity by awarding it a medal of honor and a certificate of honor, in recognition of its great contribution to promoting social development and its active role in implementing developmental charitable projects in the fields of health care, education, and cultural and humanitarian cooperation there.
Within the framework of cultural cooperation between the two countries, and in implementation of the cooperation agreement signed between them in 2014, and to introduce Qatari culture, the activities of the Qatari Cultural Days were organized in the Kyrgyz Republic in May 2017, including a group of cultural and heritage events that introduce the Kyrgyz public to the cultural diversity of the State of Qatar.
On the other hand, last March, a ceremony was held on the drama stage in the Cultural Village Foundation (Katara) about the Kyrgyz culture through music, patterns, and ornaments, on the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the State of Qatar and the Kyrgyz Republic.
It is noteworthy that the Kyrgyz Republic is a landlocked, mountainous country located in the eastern part of Central Asia, with its capital Bishkek, with a population of about six million six hundred and ninety thousand people and an area of 199 thousand square kilometers. Its distinguished geographical location in Central Asia and on the Silk Road made it an entrance to more than 180 markets.
Mountains cover more than 92 percent of its area, and according to World Bank data, seven percent of the Kyrgyz Republic’s land is arable, and more than 50 percent of its land is located at altitudes between 1,000 and 3,000 meters, while 30 percent is located at altitudes higher than 3,000 meters above the sea surface level.
Kyrgyz Republic’s economy relies heavily on the agricultural sector, and the most prominent agricultural products are cotton, tobacco, wool, and meat. It depends on the strength of industrial exports with surplus reserves of gold, mercury, and uranium. It also relies on financial transfers from foreign labor, more than 90 percent of the electric power in the Kyrgyz Republic is hydroelectric power, and it can produce larger amounts of clean energy and export it to neighboring countries and others. In 1998, the Kyrgyz Republic became the first country in the Commonwealth of Independent States to become a member of the World Trade Organization. (QNA)
