Speech by H.E. Mr. Kubanychbek Omuraliev, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Kyrgyz Republic to the Republic of Belarus

at the official reception on the occasion of the Independence Day of the Kyrgyz Republic

Minsk, Renaissance Hotel, 6 September 2016

Dear Compatriots,

Pavazanyia siabry, kalegi,

Excellency’s,

Dear friends, ladies and gentlemen,

During these days we are celebrating the main day of the country and the main event of the year – Kyrgyz Republic’s 25^th anniversary of independence!

A quarter of a century ago – on 31 August 1991 -  the extraordinary session of the Supreme Council of the Kyrgyzskaya SSR was one of the first in the soviet republics to adopt the Declaration of state independence of the Republic of Kyrgyzstan”, according to which our country had been proclaimed as an independent, sovereign and democratic state.

It was a historic day and the last chapter of the centuries-old history when our people were deprived of their own statehood.

The history of our people, as one of the most ancient ethnos, keeps the memory of the Kyrgyz Kaghanate, of difficult life of Kyrgyz nation in the Khanate of Kokand, and in the Russian Empire. 

Listing all those historic moments, Kyrgyzstan does not forget the significance of the Soviet period in the country’s development.

Over the last 25 years, Kyrgyzstan has lived through challenging times, overcoming a number of difficulties, and as a free and democratic country has occupied its rightful place in the global community.  

Kyrgyzstan is a small country with humble natural resources and thus we are always striving to go an extra mile. Kyrgyzstan was the first among post-soviet republics to adopt its national currency, first one to join the World Trade Organizations, first one to introduce private land ownership. We had other reforms too, as a result of which the country has been able to adapt to the market economy.

The changes that had taken place in Kyrgyzstan over the last years are clear evidence of the country’s confidence in building its own development model. Today, the country has a task to harmonize most progressive achievements of the modern democracy with the legal, moral and cultural traditions of our people.

During 3-8 September 2016, Kyrgyzstan is hosting the II World Nomad Games in Issyk-Kul, which gathered representatives of 62 countries. The World Nomad Games aim to bring people and cultures together. For Nomads, the Games are the celebration of their roots, a possibility to show to the new generation and to the world all the richness of the nomad culture, a possibility to be closer to nature and ancient nomad traditions. The Games include not only sport competitions, but also familiarization with the way of life, traditions, arts and nomad’s philosophy.

Our country has drawn a number of lessons from the mistakes of the first twenty five years of independence. As a result of undertaken measures Kyrgyzstan embarked on the way of stability, and showcased to the world a unique example of overcoming an acute socio-political crisis. International organizations note on certain growth of the citizens’ welfare, and starting from 2014 Kyrgyzstan is no longer considered as a developing country.

Dear ladies and gentlemen,

Twenty-five years have passed since the Kyrgyz Republic had proclaimed its state sovereignty. During those years a number of events took place, we had both negative and positive events. However, the changes that took place over the last years confirm quite an important thing – the country is progressively moving forward on its way of democratic development.

The leadership of the Republic has been ensuring that our country has a political balance and stability, develops its economy, and finds solutions for socio-economic problems.

Since its independence, the foreign policy of the Kyrgyz Republic has been aiming to set up and develop mutual cooperation with all states, including taking an active part in the activities of the UN and other international and regional organizations.

Kyrgyzstan has been an active member of the United Nations, through which the global community has had the chance to learn more about Kyrgyzstan’s history. For example, we have celebrated together 1000 years’ anniversary of the Kyrgyz Epos Manas, one of the longest epic poems in the world; we celebrated 3000 years anniversary of our southern capital – Osh city, and 2200 years’ of our statehood. Our Holy Mountain Suleiman-Too in Osh city was included in the list of World Cultural Heritage of UNESCO.

Last year, Kyrgyzstan was elected a member of the UN Council on Human Rights, becoming one of 18 countries to serve for 2016-2018.

Dear ladies and gentlemen,

The Kyrgyz Republic has obtained new opportunities by joining the Eurasian Economic Union, which has not a lesser impact on the development of bilateral ties with the Republic of Belarus. In the last years, we have been observing a positive tendency for more active Kyrgyz and Belarusian economic and trade relations.

We are very interested in the direct foreign investment in Kyrgyzstan. The most perspective areas for investment are: hydropower, mining, processing, industry and other sectors of economy.

For Kyrgyzstan - Belarus is one of the main trade partners in the CIS, accounting for one of the highest volume of commodities turnover between two countries. In June 2016 Bishkek hosted the sixth meeting of the joint Kyrgyz-Belarusian intergovernmental commission on economic and trade cooperation.  The partners discussed a range of issues for the bilateral cooperation in economy, trade, culture, education and other areas.

Today, while summarizing the results of this interstate commission, we can state that both countries have again confirmed their mutual strive to expand the horizons of our multi-sectoral cooperation to advance the further development and economic growth of both countries. Kyrgyzstan has been standing ready to strengthen mutually beneficial cooperation with the friendly Belarus at the next higher level.

Our countries have an ongoing dialogue, which is not only a bilateral, but also is within the framework of the international organizations. During the last years our relations have become stronger between the states, at the regional level, and between institutions. A vivid example of this is today’s presence of the Prosecutor-General of the Kyrgyz Republic H. E. Ms. Indira Joldubaeva, who is visiting from Kyrgyzstan to attend the Coordination Council of the Prosecutors-General of the CIS.    

Prior to inviting Mr. Leonid Zaets, Minister of agriculture and Food, Co-chair of the Belarusian team of the joint Kyrgyz-Belarusian intergovernmental commission on trade and economic cooperation, let me thank you for your constant interest to our country and participation in today’s solemn event.

Happiness, peace, and good luck to you!

Let independent Kyrgyzstan prosper!

Thank you for your attention!