On June 17 2020 Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of the Kyrgyz Republic in the Republic of Turkey K.Omuraliev met with the group of ethnic Kyrgyz led by Aitbay Eyupkhan, the head of the village of Uluu Pamir in the Ercish district of Van province and the son of Rakhmankul Khan Muhammet Arif Kutlu.

During the meeting, Aitbay Eyuphan conveyed greetings on behalf of the rural community of Uluu Pamir and noted that as a result of an agreement reached with the administration of the Van province during the visit of Ambassador K. Omuraliev to the province on June 10-12, 2019, local authorities provided an additional 270 hectares of land for ethnic Kyrgyz for housing and agricultural needs. In this regard, he expressed thanks to the Embassy for its assistance in resolving this issue.

In turn, Ambassador K.Omuraliev inquired about people there and was pleased to hear that there were no cases of Covid-19 in the village of Uluu Pamir.

For reference: On the initiative of Rakhmankul Khan in 1978, part of the Pamir Kyrgyz emigrated from Afghanistan to Pakistan. But accustomed to the harsh climate of the Wakhan corridor, they could not settle down in the hot new climatic conditions. In 1983, the Turkish Government allocated land in the Erdjish region of Van province in eastern Turkey, where was founded the village Uluu Pamir.

Currently, the village Uluu Pamir lives about three thousand ethnic Kyrgyz, who have preserved national traditions and the Kyrgyz language. A small part of the "Van" Kyrgyz lives in Istanbul and in recent years has moved to the province of Ankara (district. Chubuk) and Yozgat in central Turkey (approximately a thousand person).