Kyrgyz PM tells Naryshkin Russia is main strategic partner of Kyrgyzstan
BISHKEK. April 8 (Interfax) - Kyrgyzstan has made a historic choice in favor of strategic partnership with Russia in the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), Kyrgyz Prime Minister Temir Sariyev has said.
"The Russian Federation is our main strategic partner. Last year, we made a historic and resolute step [joined the EEU]," Sariyev said at a meeting with State Duma Speaker Sergei Naryshkin in Bishkek on Friday. Naryshkin is paying a working visit to Kyrgyzstan.
The prime minister said he was the economy minister during Kyrgyzstan's preparations for entry into the EEU and dealt with all integration issues, 'from A to Z'. He said that Russia provided comprehensive support during the preparatory stage: "Russia helped us a lot."
The prime minister lauded the activity of the Kyrgyz-Russian Development Fund and said that it had borne fruit.
He also said "all is well" in the trade, economic and military-technical fields.
Entry into the EEU helped resolve the problem of Kyrgyz labor migrants in Russia, Sariyev continued. "First of all, support was provided to our migrants," he said.
He noted a number of "minor outstanding problems of purely legislative nature."
"I would like to say that 118,000 of our citizens are blacklisted and they are involuntarily breaking the law," Sariyev said, adding that migrants had problems with residence permits and registration.
In turn, Naryshkin congratulated Sariyev and his colleagues on the national holiday, the Day of April 7 People's Revolution, and said that Russia was happy with Kyrgyzstan's performance in the EEU.
The State Duma speaker agreed that some problems had yet to be resolved from the legislative angle: "there are still some weak points." Yet, Naryshkin assured the interlocutors, "We are constantly improving it [legislation]."
He gave evidence of substantial incomes of Kyrgyz labor migrants in Russia. "To our knowledge, they transferred $1.4 billion to the republic last year," he said.
The prime minister and the speaker agreed that the real sum could be even larger, considering 'squirreled' money.
The number of Kyrgyz labor migrants in Russia is now varying from 550,000 to 700,000.
In addition, Naryshkin met with Kyrgyz Parliament Speaker Asylbek Jeenbekov on Friday.
"Bilateral relations between our countries have been stably developing in the spirit of strategic partnership, the trade turnover has been growing, and the country's entry into the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) has brought results," Naryshkin said at a meeting with his colleagues.
The legislative resolution of labor migration issues has given Kyrgyz labor migrants the same rights as the rights enjoyed by all citizens of EEU member countries, he said.
Jeenbekov presented his condolences on the plane crash in Rostov-on-Don and thanked Russia for the assistance given to Kyrgyzstan.