Meeting focus: Kyrgyzstan’s accession to the Customs Union.
Transcript of the beginning of the meeting:
With Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan Djoomart Otorbaev
Dmitry Medvedev: Mr Otorbaev, I am happy to see you and to discuss the situation regarding Russia-Kyrgyzstan cooperation with you. We are strengthening our ties, and we’ve had a number of successes in the past few years. This includes economic and humanitarian cooperation. And, of course, a focus for us is the accession of the Kyrgyz Republic to the Customs Union. This work is now underway. I know that you also plan to discuss this issue with my colleagues. I will tell right away that we are interested in resolving any problems, but we hope that your Government, Parliament and President will also take the appropriate actions. So, if there are no other questions, I suggest focusing on precisely these issues. Once again, I wish you every success in fulfilling your difficult duties.
Djoomart Otorbaev: Thank you very much, Mr Medvedev. First of all, allow me to thank you for your invitation. This is my first visit as Prime Minister to the Russian Federation. It confirms the level of strategic partnership and cooperation that our two countries enjoy. In this connection, we are very grateful to the Russian Government and Russia’s private sector which is doing its best to develop the economy. We have many tasks before us. And, indeed, Eurasian integration associations represent a priority for our country, as you mentioned.
I personally regard accession to the Customs Union and the Common Economic Space as among my priorities. We should quickly and effectively work in the direction being set by our presidents and during your meetings with President Atambayev. This is the purpose of our visit. We will also meet with Government officials and representatives of a number of Russian companies which have some very ambitious plans for investing in the Kyrgyz economy. There are extensive opportunities for cooperation in this area. Mr Medvedev, I’d like to take this opportunity to make sure we’re on the same page and to plan practical steps for implementing past and current accords.
Dmitry Medvedev: We certainly will, Mr Otorbaev.
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