President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who is in Bishkek for the 11th Summit of the Council of Heads of State of the Organisation of Turkic States (OTS), was welcomed with an official ceremony by President Sadyr Japarov of Kyrgyzstan.
President Erdoğan was accompanied by mounted troops on his way to the Presidential Palace.
The ceremony started with the playing of the national anthems of the two countries after President Erdoğan and Japarov took their seats. Afterwards, President Erdoğan saluted the guard of honour. Both President Erdoğan and Japarov introduced their delegations to one another and observed the military parade.
After shaking hands and posing for the press members, President Erdoğan and Japarov proceeded to have a bilateral meeting.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Hakan Fidan, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Alparslan Bayraktar, Minister of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, Minister of National Defence Yaşar Güler, Minister of Health Kemal Memişoğlu, Minister of Trade Ömer Bolat, Director of National Intelligence Organisation (MİT) İbrahim Kalın, Presidency's Head of Communications Fahrettin Altun, Chief Advisor to the President on Foreign Policy and Security Akif Çağatay Kılıç, AK Party Deputy Chairman and Party Spokesperson Ömer Çelik and Chairman of the Council of Elders of the Organisation of Turkic States (OTS) Binali Yıldırım also attended the ceremony.
Visit to Urkun Memorial
President Erdoğan, who is in Bishkek for the 11th Summit of the Council of Heads of State of the Organisation of Turkic States (OTS), visited the Urkun Memorial.
President Erdoğan visited the monument before the official welcoming ceremony and placed a wreath while also receiving information from the authorities.
Afterwards, President Erdoğan visited the Kyrgyz writer and statesman Chinghiz Aitmatov's grave. President Erdoğan listened to the recitation of the Holy Quran by the Aitmatov's grave.
6th Meeting of the Türkiye-Kyrgyzstan High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council
President Erdoğan addressed the 6th meeting of the Türkiye-Kyrgyzstan High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council, which he co-presided with President Sadyr Japarov of Kyrgyzstan.
Expressing his pleasure in visiting Kyrgyzstan, which he refers to as the "ancestral homeland," on the occasion of the meeting, President Erdoğan thanked Japarov for his "remarkable" hospitality.
President Erdoğan commemorated the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the Qara-Kyrgyz Region, where the foundations of the sovereign Republic of Kyrgyzstan were laid.
Highlighting that the signed document will elevate strategic cooperation between the two nations to the level of comprehensive strategic partnership, President Erdoğan stated that, therefore, a mechanism to deepen the existing relations in the fields of security, transportation, health, and others will be established.
Trade Volume Goal of $5 Billion
President Erdoğan stated that during their bilateral meeting with President Japarov, they agreed on increasing the goal of the bilateral trade volume to some 5 billion dollars.
Emphasising that Türkiye is among the top five countries investing in the Republic of Kyrgyzstan, President Erdoğan said, "We are among the countries providing the most official development support. These are economic indicators of the importance we attribute to our ancestral homeland. Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) has materialised over 1,000 projects since it began operating in Kyrgyzstan in 1992. The Kyrgyz-Turkish Friendship State Hospital, which we will inaugurate today, is among these projects. I would like to express that I am extremely honoured that you have named the hospital after me."
Stressing that the cooperation between the security institutions of the two countries continues successfully with training activities and technical support projects, President Erdoğan added: “I believe that our fight against terror in all its forms, FETO in particular, will uninterruptedly continue. We want to further strengthen our cooperation through the security cooperation agreement we will sign today.”
Touching upon the cooperation in the field of education, President Erdoğan made the following remarks: "We shall swiftly finalise the negotiations for the agreement on cooperation in the field of education. On this occasion, I am pleased that Manas University ranked among the top universities in the world. Let us continue to work in harmony to maximise the university’s contribution to Kyrgyzstan’s human capital as well as to science and the arts."
"The Israeli oppression deeply wounds the consciences at a global level"
Touching upon Israel’s attacks on Gaza, President Erdoğan underscored that the ongoing Israeli oppression in the occupied Palestinian lands, especially in Gaza, deeply wounds the consciences at a global level and went on to say:
“Israel’s attacks on Lebanon now threaten the security of the entire region and the international system. At the Informal Summit of the Heads of State of the Organisation of Turkic States held in Shusha, we condemned the indiscriminate targeting of civilians and called for an urgent ceasefire and humanitarian aid. It is extremely important for us, the Turkic world, to maintain our efforts for a lasting and fair solution to the Palestinian issue. In this regard, I thank Kyrgyzstan for its support to our multilateral initiatives, including the United Nations, in order to increase the international pressure on Israel."
Further stating that the contractual basis of the two countries’ relations will be further strengthened with the agreements to be signed today, President Erdoğan noted: “I wish that the 11th Summit of the Council of Heads of State of the Organisation of Turkic States to be hosted by you tomorrow and your term presidency will lead to auspicious outcomes. I wholeheartedly believe that you will contribute to the duly representation of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, our observer member, during your term presidency."
Emphasising that they successfully concluded the 6th Meeting of the Türkiye-Kyrgyzstan High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council, President Erdoğan said: "In our contacts today, we exchanged views on the steps we will take to further develop our relations. I believe the decisions we made and the goals we set will shape the future of our relations. I look forward to welcoming you to Ankara for the next council meeting."
President Erdoğan expressed his gratitude for the hospitality and kindness extended to him and his delegation and said, "I wish that this magnificent work of yours, on which we are holding this meeting today, will be auspicious for Kyrgyzstan. You have indeed accomplished a successful task in terms of cost calculations. I congratulate you in this respect. I hope that our consultations and decisions will lead to auspicious outcomes."
Stating that 19 agreements will be signed between the two countries, President Erdoğan said, "I find this meeting to be highly fruitful. 19 agreements, it is amazing. May Allah bring it to a good conclusion."
The meeting was followed by the signing ceremony of the agreements.
