On January 30-31, 2020, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Kyrgyz Republic to the Republic of Turkey Kubanychbek Omuraliev paid a working visit to Izmir city.

Ambassador Kubanychbek Omuraliev met with the First Vice Mayor of Izmir Mustafa Ozuslu (Mayor Tunch Sawyer was on a business trip to the United States) and, as part of the development of the regions of Kyrgyzstan, noted the necessity of restoration relations between Bishkek and Izmir, which are twin-cities since 1991. Taking into consideration that the basis of friendship is cultural cooperation, Kubanychbek Omuraliev paid attention to the fact that the writer Chingiz Aitmatov is a cultural heritage not only for the Turkic-speaking world, but for the whole world, and noted the importance of perpetuation of the name of Chingiz Aitmatov in Izmir.

Supporting the Ambassador, Mustafa Ozuslu said that Izmir is a candidate city for the European capital of culture and in this regard, the erection of a monument or the assignment of Aitmatov’s name to Izmir Park in the potential European capital of culture will be an important and timely event for the city.

During the visit, Ambassador Omuraliev held a meeting with the management, members of the Board of Directors and businessmen of the Aegean Regional Industrial Chamber (EBSO) and made a presentations on the investment climate and opportunities in the Kyrgyz Republic, on the conditions for doing business (liberal taxes, costs of doing business, etc.), macroeconomic indicators and the foreign trade turnover of the Kyrgyz Republic, on the membership of the Kyrgyz Republic in the EAEU. Ambassador Omuraliev invited businessmen to participate in the Kyrgyz-Turkish business forum held in the summer of 2020, and also answered questions of interest to them. The leaders of two companies specializing in the sale of paints and car painting expressed a request for assistance in obtaining the necessary information in order to carry out their activities in Kyrgyzstan.

At a meeting with the leadership and members of the Chamber of Commerce Izmir province, Ambassador Omuraliev also made a presentation on the investment climate and opportunities in the Kyrgyz Republic and invited businessmen to the Kyrgyz-Turkish business forum. The parties agreed to organize a “Kyrgyz Business Day” in Izmir with the participation of 500 Turkish and Kyrgyz businessmen and business meetings in B2B format.

For reference: Izmir is the 3rd most populated city in Turkey and the 2nd largest port after Istanbul. Izmir is the administrative center of the province of the same name, located in the south-west of Turkey, off the east coast of the Aegean Sea. The population of Izmir is 4.3 million. The economy of Izmir is based on industry, agriculture, tourism, etc. The Izmir Chamber of Commerce was established in 1985 and is the 2nd chamber of commerce in Turkey after the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce (1882). The Chamber of Commerce has more than 70,000 registered members, which are classified in 76 different professional sectors. The Aegean Regional Chamber of Industry (EBSO) was established in 1954 and is the first and only regional chamber to operate in 64 different industries with a total active membership of about 4,500 companies. The chamber includes 14 organized industrial zones and 2 free economic zones.