Blanar to Visit Kyrgyzstan in Late April

Bratislava, April 23 (TASR) - Foreign and European Affairs Minister Juraj Blanar (Smer-SD) will go on an official visit to Kyrgyzstan in April 24-25 in the company of a sizable Slovak business delegation, TASR learnt from the ministry's press department on Wednesday. The aim of the working trip is to expand political dialogue and firm up Slovak-Kyrgyz cooperation, with a focus on trade and economic relations. "The trade balance between Slovakia and Kyrgyzstan reached a record €76.8 million last year, with Slovak exports increasing more than fourfold year-on-year. We're responding to the interest among Slovak companies in utilising and developing business opportunities in Kyrgyzstan," emphasised the minister, who will also open the Interhelpo 2.1 Slovak-Kyrgyz business forum in Bishkek. The forum will be attended by representatives of 30 Slovak companies and institutions. The ministry stated that this important forum for B2B meetings between Slovak and Kyrgyz entrepreneurs will support new business opportunities and investment activities between the two countries. The ministry reported that minister Blanar is slated to meet top Kyrgyz officials in the capital city, Bishkek, including President Sadyr Zhaparov, Minister of Foreign Affairs Zheenbek Kulubayev, Minister of Economy and Trade Bakyt Sydykov, and Speaker of the Kyrgyz Parliament Nurlanbek Shakiyev. The ministry added that on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the arrival of the first group of Czechoslovak citizens associated with Interhelpo in what is now Bishkek, Blanar will attend a ceremonial programme and visit memorial sites, including those dedicated to Alexander Dubcek, whose parents, along with other members of the cooperative, left during an economic crisis in search of better living conditions in this Central Asian country. According to the ministry, the community of descendants of the Interhelpo movement remains a unique foundation of Slovak-Kyrgyz relations even a century later. mf/df