Kyrgyz-Turkish business forum held in Bishkek

On September 2, the Kyrgyz-Turkish Investment Forum was held in Bishkek with the participation of the President of the Kyrgyz Republic Sooronbai Jeenbekov and the President of the Republic of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The President of Turkey was on a two-day official visit in Kyrgyzstan.

Leading companies from Turkey and Kyrgyzstan from various sectors of the economy, including IBC members, representatives of state bodies and international organizations took part in the forum. The purpose of the meeting was to develop cooperation between the two countries, as well as to determine further prospects for cooperation.

Political partnership between Kyrgyzstan and Turkey has been strengthening for many years and has reached a high level. It is time now to give a new impetus to the development of economic cooperation between the two countries, Kyrgyz President Sooronbai Jeenbekov said at the forum.

In 1994, trade between Kyrgyzstan and Turkey was $20 million. Over the past 23 years, this indicator grew 18-fold and last year amounted to $356 million.

"At the same time, I believe that our trade is not fully used. We need to make every effort to increase the trade between our countries up to $1 billion,” Jeenbekov said.

Over 27 years of Kyrgyzstan’s independence, hundreds of projects have been implemented in Kyrgyzstan with the participation of Turkish capital. Currently, over 600 joint Kyrgyz-Turkish enterprises operate in Kyrgyzstan. Since 1995, direct investments from Turkey to Kyrgyzstan exceeded $500 million.