Blanar: Kyrgyzstan Offers Economic Cooperation and Opens Doors to Central Asia

Bratislava, April 25 (TASR) - Slovak companies could take advantage of emerging opportunities in Kyrgyzstan, contributing to the deepening of Slovak-Kyrgyz economic cooperation, with the country's strategic location also offering potential for expansion into other Central Asian nations, said Slovak Foreign Minister Juraj Blanar (Smer-SD) on Friday at the opening of the Interhelpo 2.1 business forum in Bishkek. "Kyrgyzstan has great potential in harnessing hydropower, and Slovakia has much to offer in this regard. In addition to our extensive experience in constructing and renovating dams and power plants, we can share our technologies and best practices in agriculture, engineering and transport," said Blanar, adding that Slovakia is already supplying monitoring systems for water structures and meteorological and hydrological forecasting systems to the region. Strengthening trade relations was also a key topic in discussions between Blanar and Kyrgyzstan's Economy and Trade Minister Bakyt Sydykov. Last year, the trade balance between Slovakia and Kyrgyzstan reached nearly 77 million euros, with Slovak exports increasing more than fourfold. However, Blanar stressed that trade volumes remain low, and efforts are being made to enhance mutually beneficial trade and investment ties. The European Union signed a strategic partnership agreement with Kyrgyzstan last year, which was ratified by the Slovak Parliament in April, creating a new framework for cooperation in trade, investment, sustainable development, research, innovation, education and environmental issues. A total of 150 entrepreneurs and officials from both countries are discussing the development of existing or new partnerships in areas such as engineering, electronics, IT, printing, energy, transport, green technologies, water management and food production. lin/df