On January 31 this year, Tolendy Makeyev, Permanent Representative of the Kyrgyz Republic to the International Organizations in Vienna, met with Dr. Abdulhamid Alkhalifa, Director General of the International Development Fund of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC Fund).

During the meeting, topical issues of cooperation between the Kyrgyz Republic and the OPEC Fund, projects implemented in the Kyrgyz Republic within the framework of the Fund were touched upon. The Permanent Representative of the Kyrgyz Republic informed the Director General about the initiative of the President of the Kyrgyz Republic S.N.Japarov on the direction of funds provided for the repayment of the country's external debt, for the implementation and support of projects in the field of climate change and the "green economy".

The Permanent Representative also stressed that the Kyrgyz Republic has a high potential in the field of hydropower, which is currently used by only 10%.

As a result of the meeting, the Permanent Representative presented to the OPEC Fund investment projects in the sphere of the “green economy”, in particular, on the construction of hydroelectric power plants, solar energy stations and waste recycling.

The Director General of the OPEC Fund noted the high level of cooperation with Kyrgyzstan and the Fund's support for the implementation of specific projects in the Kyrgyz Republic in the fields of education, healthcare, agriculture, road construction, etc. He assured that the OPEC Fund will carefully consider the proposals submitted by the Kyrgyz side.

At the end of the meeting, the parties agreed on further steps to expand practical cooperation between Kyrgyzstan and the OPEC Fund.

 

For reference: Cooperation between Kyrgyzstan and the OPEC Fund began in 2010. To date, the OPEC Fund has approved more than 40 million US dollars for the implementation of specific projects in the Kyrgyz Republic in the fields of transport, education and healthcare.