KYRGYZSTAN: China's President Hu signs bilateral trade agreement in Kyrgyzstan

Chinese President Hu Jintao signs a trade agreement with his Kyrgyz counterpart, Kurmanbek Bakiyev on the first day of a two-day state visit to Kyrgyzstan. Chinese President Hu Jintao on Tuesday (August 14) started a two-day state visit to Kyrgyzstan aimed at improving already friendly diplomatic and economic ties between the two nations. Hu was welcomed by an official delegation headed by Kyrgyz Prime Minister Almaz Atambayev at Bishkek's airport. Representatives of Kygyzstan's ethnic Chinese community also greeted Hu at the airport. "Thank you friends, I am very happy to come and visit beautiful Kyrgyzstan, I would like to thank the Prime Minister for coming to the airport and meeting me. I hope to have discussions with Kyrgyz President Bakiyev and other government leaders about our bilateral relations and issues relating to our mutual relations," Hu said at the airport. Hu later met Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev for talks on bilateral ties. Bakiyev noted that Hu's visit represented the "first visit on such high level" since bilateral diplomatic relations had been established 15 years ago. Kyrgyz and Chinese media reports on Tuesday said Hu and Bakiyev signed a new bilateral trade agreement, and put signatures to a project for a joint cement factory in southern Kyrgyzstan and a commercial agreement in the banking sector. Relations between China and Kyrgyzstan have expanded in the last two years, with increasing volumes of trade. Beijing is now one of the leading foreign investors in Kyrgyzstan. The Chinese president arrived in Bishkek ahead of a one-day summit of leaders of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) - a regional security body that includes Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan on Thursday (August 16).

ITN Source | August 15, 2007

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