First EU-Central Asia Economic Forum to be held in Bishkek in 2020

Bishkek, Nov.19, 2019. /Kabar/. In order to support and expand regional and international trade and economic cooperation, new platform-the European Union-Central Asia Economic Forum has been provided. The first Forum will be held in Bishkek in 2020, EU Special Representative for Central Asia Peter Burian said today, Nov.19 at the High Level Development Forum “Accelerating Reforms For Sustainable Development”. He stressed the EU supports Kyrgyzstan's efforts to implement projects on clean water, human capital development, education, judicial and legal reform and digitalization. “I am pleased to note that the EU is one of Kyrgyzstan's largest development partners. In just the past five years, the EU has invested more than €270 million in various development projects in priority sectors such as rule of law, education and integrated rural development, including water supply. These are all important areas for sustainable development of Kyrgyzstan,” Peter Burian said. The EU Special Representative added most of these funds have stimulated additional investments in water supply and sanitation, support for small and medium-sized businesses, energy, climate change, environment and natural resource management. Peter Burian once again expressed the EU's readiness to continue to be a reliable partner for Kyrgyzstan, which is also reflected in the recently signed bilateral Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement. “We want to support modernization processes in the Kyrgyz Republic. In this regard, access to cutting-edge knowledge will be a key success factor. The role of education and research will become increasingly important, as digital communication,” the EU Special Representative said. Peter Burian also added a new EU Strategy for Central Asia has been adopted at the regional level. “This strategy will serve as a guide for the development cooperation programmes of the EU for the next budget cycle (2021-2027), focusing on the key aspects of sustainable development - security, natural resource management, education, rule of law," said Peter Burian. Print