On March 12, 2022, on the margins of the Diplomatic Forum in Antalya, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kyrgyz Republic Ruslan Kazakbaev met with the President of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe Leen Verbeek and the Secretary General of the Congress Andreas Kiefer.

The main topic of the meeting was the discussion of the prospects for cooperation between the Kyrgyz Republic and the Congress.

Minister R. Kazakbaev noted that the development of local self-government institutions and enhancing of their role is one of the topmost priorities of the leadership of the Kyrgyz Republic.

In this regard, he informed about the Program for the Development of Local Self-Government for 2018-2023 years and expressed interest in benefiting the expert potential and rich experience of the Congress in the development of LSG. He thanked Secretary General A. Kiefer for his visit to Bishkek on the eve of the Antalya Forum and called to maintain an active dialogue in the future.

The President of the Congress L.Verbeek welcomed the democratic achievements of the Kyrgyz Republic and the intensification of bilateral cooperation between Kyrgyzstan and the Council of Europe. He informed about the work of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe and potential areas of fruitful cooperation with the Kyrgyz side.

The meeting provided an important opportunity to discuss further steps for the parties to obtain the “Partner for Local Democracy” status for the Kyrgyz Republic.