Kyrgyz president, Chinese vice premier discuss ties, joint rail project

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) - The president of Kyrgyzstan on Thursday discussed bilateral ties and economic cooperation between his country and Beijing in a meeting with China's vice premier, including on the construction of a landmark rail project.

"An exchange of views took place on topical issues of further strengthening Kyrgyz-Chinese relations within the framework of political, trade, economic, cultural and humanitarian cooperation," said a statement from the office of President Sadyr Japarov on his meeting with Hu Chunhua.

The statement said Japarov "appreciated" the current state of Kyrgyzstan-China relations and the progress of trade and economic cooperation between the two countries, notably in terms of joint economic projects in various fields, and expressed his country's readiness to expand cooperation.

"Japarov cited the largest transport project for the construction of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway, which the three parties have already begun, as an example of successful cooperation," the statement added.

It also said that the Kyrgyz leader noted that the project would have "an invaluable positive impact on the economic development of the entire region and will become an important link in the implementation of (Chinese) President Xi Jinping's 'One Belt, One Road' initiative."

For his part, Chunhua said that a group of Chinese specialists had completed the field work for the railway project and that a feasibility study would be handed over to Kyrgyz and Uzbek officials for examination in "the near future."

"Chunhua also stressed the importance of strengthening cooperation in the field of interconnectedness, expressing the hope that the three parties will actively promote the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway project, thus ensuring uninterrupted trade and economic interaction between the countries," the statement further said.

In September, China, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan signed a trilateral memorandum of understanding to cooperate on the railway project connecting the three countries, on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Samarkand.

Japarov announced on Nov. 25 that Kyrgyz and Chinese experts commenced field work to pave the way for the construction of the railway project.