FM Aidarbekov, U.S. Secretary of State Pompeo discuss steps to abolish visa restrictions for Kyrgyz citizens

Bishkek, Feb.4, 2020. /Kabar/. Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kyrgyz Republic Chingiz Aidarbekov held on Monday bilateral meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo, the press service of the Kyrgyz Foreign Ministry said. The meeting took place in the Uzbek capital city of Tashkent. Aidarbekov and Pompeo discussed ways of developing cooperation between the Kyrgyz Republic and the US, including joint steps to lift US visa restrictions for Kyrgyz citizens. FM Aidarbekov once again stressed the above decision of the American side directly affects the interests of the citizens of the Kyrgyz Republic. The Kyrgyz side expressed astonishment that out of over 80 countries that have not yet introduced biometric passports, the restrictions have selectively affected only a few states, including Kyrgyzstan. This goes against the understanding of partner support for parliamentary democracy and freedom of speech, which is being successfully developed in Kyrgyzstan. Aidarbekov noted Kyrgyzstan is an active participant in international security processes and has made and is making a special contribution to fighting terrorism. An agreement was reached to strengthen close cooperation in this area and to find solutions to the situation. The sides stressed the importance of developing the entire complex of the Kyrgyz-U.S. relations in bilateral and multilateral formats. The Kyrgyz delegation led by Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kyrgyzstan Chingiz Aidarbekov took part in the C5 +1 Ministerial Meeting ( Central Asia + USA cooperation format) in Tashkent. The meeting was attended by the foreign ministers of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and the US Secretary of State. The C5+1 (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and the United States) multilateral forum was established in November 2015 at a ministerial meeting in Samarkand with a goal of expanding intra-regional cooperation and Central Asia’s relations with the United States.