Results of first day of Sadyr Zhaparov's visit to Russia: Millions and vaccine

President of Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Zhaparov has begun his visit to Russia on Feb. 24, 2021. At the meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the fight against coronavirus, preservation of the status of the Russian language, extension of the Kyrgyzstan-Russia Cross Year in order to strengthen economic and cultural interaction were discussed. What the presidents talked about (theses) Vladimir Putin: I am very glad that today Russia occupies the first place in your country’s trade and economic ties. We are hoping that you will manage to normalise the domestic political situation. We helped Kyrgyzstan in its efforts to counter the epidemic. Incidentally, I would also like to express my satisfaction with your successes on this track. You have managed to curb the spread of the epidemic and reduce the number of new coronavirus cases. I know that our Kyrgyz friends would like to take additional measures on cooperation in this area. We will do everything we can, we will continue to support you. You know about the measures that were taken earlier. The Cross Year of Kyrgyzstan in Russia and Russia in Kyrgyzstan was launched here last year. Unfortunately, due to this pandemic we were unable to hold all of the 200 planned events of different level and quality. I am sure that as the situation stabilises and sanitary-epidemiological indicators improve, we will catch up with all this, including our humanitarian cooperation. There are many interesting and promising opportunities in this respect. To sum up, we will be glad to work with you in all these areas. I would like to say again that we are hoping the measures you plan to take inside the country, including amendments to the Fundamental Law of Kyrgyzstan, will facilitate stabilization in the republic and will certainly promote our bilateral interstate ties. . Sadyr Zhapatov: This visit to Russia as my first foreign visit in the capacity of President of the Kyrgyz Republic is proof of the high level of bilateral relations between our countries. We intend to continue strengthening our strategic partnership and allied relations. We are resolved to continue our cooperation with the EAEU, the CIS, the CSTO and the SCO. This is our foreign policy and economic priority. I would also like to point out that the effectiveness and safety of the Russian coronavirus vaccine has been recognized by the international community. I hope that we will launch a vaccination campaign in our country soon as well. We are always ready for cooperation with the Russian Federation. It would give me great pleasure to use this occasion to invite you to make an official visit to Kyrgyzstan at your convenience. Following the visit Russia will provide technical assistance to Kyrgyzstan and will allocate RUB 623 million free of charge to create a system for marking goods with identification means. The agreement on the implementation of the project was signed by Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation Denis Manturov and Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Finance and Economy of the Kyrgyz Republic Ulukbek Karmyshakov. The term for creating a product labeling system is 18 months. Russian language A lot of attention was paid to the preservation of the Russian language at the meeting of the leaders of the two countries. Russian President Vladimir Putin thanked Sadyr Zhaparov for maintaining the state status of the Russian language, noting that this gives citizens of the neighboring state advantages for employment in Russia. “I would like to mention one more issue which I regard as extremely important for our bilateral relations, that is, the preservation of the state status of the Russian language. This is important to us…This is also important to the citizens of Kyrgyzstan, because this offers them certain advantages on the Russian labour market,” he said during a bilateral meeting in the Kremlin. Putin assured that the Russian authorities, for their part, will do everything necessary to preserve the possibility of studying the Russian language by the Kyrgyz in their homeland. The first day of the visit of the President of the Kyrgyz Republic ended with a meeting with Kyrgyz students studying at Russian universities. The head of state noted that more than 16,000 Kyrgyzstanis study in educational institutions of Russia, of which almost half receive knowledge on a budgetary basis according to target quotas. “You are our new generation, which will be a key force in the future development of Kyrgyzstan. Your knowledge is a great resource. After graduation and returning home, I urge you to contribute to the development of many industries and sectors of our country,” Sadyr Zhaparov said. Feb. 25, 2021