Your Excellency Deputy Foreign Minister Mr. Aibek Artykbaev,
Friends from the Diplomatic Community and the Indian Community,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Good evening!
It is my honour and privilege to extend a warm welcome to all of you on the occasion of the 74th Republic Day of India. I would like to wish good health, happiness, success and prosperity to the people of India and the Kyrgyz Republic and to you all who are present here to celebrate this moment with us.
- India’s relations with the Kyrgyz Republic are bound by historical and civilizational links and have traditionally been warm and friendly. We elevated our relationship to a strategic partnership in June 2019 during the visit of Hon’ble Prime Minister of India Mr. Narendra Modi to the Kyrgyz Republic. Regular exchanges of visits from both sides have contributed to the development of cooperation in several areas. Our people have great warmth and affection for each other. Our Governments are committed to better these relations further.
- The year 2022 was special as India and the Kyrgyz Republic celebrated 30 years of the establishment of diplomatic relations. The 1stIndia-Central Asia Summit was held on 27 January 2022 in virtual mode at the initiative of Hon’ble Prime Minister of India Mr. Narendra Modi. President of the Kyrgyz Republic His Excellency Mr. Sadyr Zhaparov participated in the Summit along with the other four Presidents of the Central Asian Republics.
- Dialogue between the Foreign Ministries of our two countries is held regularly to implement the various decisions taken by the leaders at the Summit meetings. External Affairs Minister of India Dr. S.Jaishankar met with Foreign Minister of the Kyrgyz Republic His Excellency Mr. Zheenbek Kulubaev on the sidelines of the SCO Foreign Ministers Meeting in Tashkent in July 2022. Hon’ble Minister of State for External Affairs and Culture of India Mrs. Meenakashi Lekhi visited the Kyrgyz Republic in June 2022. The 12thRound of Foreign Office Consultations between our two Foreign Ministries was held in Bishkek in November last year.
- Amongst the other institutional mechanisms of interaction, Secretary of the Security Council of the Kyrgyz Republic His Excellency Mr. Marat Imankulov participated in the First India-Central Asia Meeting of National Security Advisers and Secretaries of Security Councils in December 2022 in India.
- The 10thSession of the India-Kyrgyz Republic Inter Governmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technological Cooperation was held in virtual format on 3rdNovember, 2022. It has been able to identify mutual cooperation in several fields including Trade and Economy, Development Partnership, Investment, Digitalization, Intellectual Property, Agriculture, Healthcare, Pharmaceuticals, Textiles, Education, Environment, Banking, Transport, Mining and Power sectors.
- An important milestone was achieved with bilateral trade between our two countries crossing the US$ 100 million mark for the first time reaching US$ 110 million during January to November 2022. Exports from India to the Kyrgyz Republic were US$ 100 million while imports from the Kyrgyz Republic into India were US$ 10 million. Bilateral trade has more than doubled compared with the previous year though considerable untapped potential remains.
- Defence Cooperation is an important pillar of our strategic partnership with the Kyrgyz Republic. The India-Kyrgyz Special Forces Exercise titled “Khanjar” is an apt reflection of the convergence of our thought and approach towards combating the menace of terrorism and extremism. Our cooperation in the field of high-altitude ecosystems at the Kyrgyz-India Mountain Bio-Medical Research Centre is almost as old as the history of our formal diplomatic relations with the Kyrgyz Republic.
- The Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation Programme, or ITEC in short, is the leading capacity building platform and a pillar of India’s development partnership with fellow developing countries. The ITEC partnership of three decades between India and Kyrgyzstan has been deep and long-standing building the capacity of officials, business executives and defence personnel of the Kyrgyz Republic. There has been enthusiastic response of Kyrgyz participants in the ITEC programmes. 100 ITEC slots are being offered every year by India to the Kyrgyz Republic. The ITEC alumni is nearly 1,500 in the Kyrgyz Republic.
- India and the Kyrgyz Republic have close cultural ties with mutual appreciation of culture of each other. A five-year Cultural Exchange Programme was signed in June 2022 to promote these further between our two countries. Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) provides scholarships to Kyrgyz students to pursue higher education in India. A20-member youth delegation from the Kyrgyz Republic visited various places in India in November 2022 to witness first-hand and thereby understand India’s economy; the technological, industrial and research capabilities of India as well as India’s rich cultural heritage and diversity.
- I am happy to inform you that an India Study Centre is functioning in the National Library in Bishkek. The Mahatma Gandhi-Manas Library has been inaugurated at the Manas-Chingiz Aitmatov National Academy in Bishkek. Regular yoga and Kathak dance classes are being held at the premises of Embassy of India in Bishkek. You will get an opportunity to watch a cultural performance today by some of the students.
- Tourism holds considerable potential between our two countries. It is a matter of great satisfaction that the flow of tourists between India and the Kyrgyz Republic has gone up last year after two years of Covid-19 restrictions. The number of visas issued by us at the Embassy too has seen an increase. India has also restored e-visas for Kyrgyz nationals and commencement of direct flights last year has made travel between our two countries more convenient.
- The Indian diaspora in the Kyrgyz Republic is more than 15,000 strong comprising mostly of Indian students studying medicine in Kyrgyz universities/ Institutions in Bishkek, Kant, Issy-Kul, Osh and Jalal-Abad. The number of Indian students studying medicine in the Kyrgyz Republic has been growing steadily over the years. We also have professionals mostly involved in Pharma, health care, hospitality, tourism, education and other businesses. We are extremely thankful to the Kyrgyz Government for addressing the welfare of the Diaspora including our students.
- India assumed the presidency of G-20 and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization last year. India hosted a two-day Voice of Global South Summit on 12-13 January 2023 in virtual format to focus international attention on priorities, perspectives and concerns of the developing world. The Summit saw participation from 125 countries of the Global South including the Kyrgyz Republic. As Chair of the SCO’s Council of Heads of States, India’s priorities would be to advance the theme of ‘SECURE’, articulated by our Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi initially at the SCO Summit in Qingdao in 2018. SECURE stands for Security, Economic cooperation, Connectivity, Unity, Respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, and Environment. As the Kyrgyz Republic is the Chair of the SCO Heads of Government Council this year, we are confident of greater exchanges of visits and expansion of bilateral interaction between our two countries this year.
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
- I thank all of you for joining us this evening to celebrate the 74th Republic Day of India. I would also like to thank the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic for extending all the support to the Embassy of India and to H.E. Mr. Artykbaev for finding time out of his busy schedule to participate in this event today as the Chief Guest.
Thank you.
*******
