Foreign relations of Kyrgyzstan

Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan's hostility toward Kyrgyzstan was short-lived, and the three nations signed an agreement in January 1994 creating an economic union.

Turkey has sought to capitalize on its cultural and ethnic links to the region and has found Kyrgyzstan receptive to cultivating bilateral relations.

[8] The free-trade zone in Naryn attracted large numbers of Chinese businesspeople, who came to dominate most of the republic's import and export of small goods.

The Defense Minister Omuraliyev was enthusiastic about the prospects of military cooperation in a radio interview with Free Europe in September 2013.

He specified foreign language (presumably English) training, military medicine and preparing for United Nations peacekeeping missions as specific areas of cooperation.

Kyrgyz-Kazakh relationships have always been friendly and economic and other formal unifications of two countries have been greeted with strong appreciation since the two nations have a lot in common.

[31] Whereas the other Central Asian republics have sometimes complained of Russian interference, Kyrgyzstan has more often wished for more attention and support from Moscow than it has been able to obtain.

For all the financial support that the world community has offered, Kyrgyzstan remains economically dependent on Russia, both directly and through Kazakhstan.

In early 1995, Askar Akayev, the then President of Kyrgyzstan, attempted to sell Russian companies controlling shares in the republic's twenty-nine largest industrial plants, an offer that Russia refused.

On the sidelines of the 69th session of the UN General Assembly, Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se met with his Kyrgyz counterpart Yerlan Abdyldaev on September 26.

In the meeting, the two diplomats discussed matters of mutual concern including ways to boost high-level exchanges to step up substantive cooperation and work together on the international stage.

The two sides shared the view that their countries have seen their bilateral relations move forward in diverse fields since the visit of Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev to the Republic of Korea in November 2013.

[8] Much of Kyrgyzstan depends on Uzbekistan for natural gas; on several occasions, Karimov has achieved political ends by shutting pipelines or by adjusting terms of delivery.

[8] Although Uzbekistan has not shown overt expansionist tendencies, the Kyrgyz government is acutely aware of the implications of Karimov's assertions that he is responsible for the well-being of all Uzbeks, regardless of their nation of residence.