Cultural and humanitarian cooperation between Kyrgyzstan and Switzerland

Cultural and humanitarian cooperation is one of the areas of bilateral relations between the Kyrgyz Republic and Switzerland. As of today, the two countries have not yet signed an agreement on cultural and educational cooperation, but this is not an obstacle to the development of cooperation in this direction.

The Swiss delegation took part at the Third World Nomad Games in 2018. During recent years, a number of cultural events aimed at promoting tourism, culture and traditions of Kyrgyzstan have been organized in Switzerland. In the spring of 2018, a major event of the Embassy was held, during which a presentation of the World Nomad Games III and the tourist potential of the Kyrgyz Republic was made. In the fall of 2018, the Embassy organized and conducted a major art exhibition by the famous Kyrgyz artist Diaz Ustemirov called “The Soul and Wings of a Nomad”. In December 2018, the Embassy organized a cultural event in honor of the 90th birthday anniversary of the great Kyrgyz writer Chingiz Aitmatov. The Ambassador’s repeated interviews to the most famous Swiss media are also aimed at presenting the culture, traditions and tourism of the country. Over the past 3 years, interviews and publications have been made to "Bilan", "Blick", "Le Matin", "Diplomat", etc. The Embassy is a regular participant of cultural events organized annually by the Swiss organization "Pamir Bridges", which, together with the public foundation "CAMP Ala Too" and local authorities of Kyrgyzstan, is engaged in building mountain river bridges in remote regions of the country. During 2016, an exchange of cultural and concert delegations between the two countries took place: the famous Kyrgyz folk-ethnographic group "Ordo-Sahna" visited Switzerland with a concert, demonstration of the collection of national costumes, applied folk art pieces, tourist and investment materials, and Kyrgyzstan was visited by one of the best guitar ensembles in the world - the Swiss quartet "EOS", that gave concerts of classical guitar music in Bishkek and Osh cities and held workshops in Bishkek for students of musical college named after M.Kurenkeev and students of the National Conservatory named after K.Moldobasanov. The Embassy is a constant participant of the annual "UN-Bazaar" charity fair, during which there is a special stand with Kyrgyz national products, information materials on culture, tourism and customs of the country.

The Swiss side regularly provides opportunities for students and government officials of Kyrgyzstan to study and take courses at the leading Swiss educational institutions. For example, the Geneva Center for Security Policy (GCSP) annually trains about 10-15 representatives of Kyrgyzstan at various advanced courses related to international relations and security. In 2018, with the assistance of the Embassy, 2 civil servants of the State Personnel Service of Kyrgyzstan were trained at the Swiss School of Public Administration. Students from Kyrgyzstan study in the most famous institutions of higher education in Switzerland.

In recent years, the Embassy assisted in arranging travels to Kyrgyzstan for reporters from leading Swiss media to make films about the country, its culture and traditions.