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On 6-7 July 2014, a delegation headed by Federal Councillor Ms. Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf (the Swiss Finance Minister) visited Bishkek on a working visit.

 

The Federal Councillor, Ms. Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf, was received by the President of the Kyrgyz Republic Almazbek Atambaev. The two sides discussed the current political and economic situation in Kyrgyzstan and expressed their mutual high satisfaction at the strong partnership between Switzerland and Kyrgyzstan. Among the members of the Swiss delegation led by Ms Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf were also the State Secretary Mr. Jacques de Watteville from the Federal Ministry of Finance and Ambassador Beatrice Maser from the State Secretary for Economic Affairs (SECO).

The Swiss delegation also met with Prime Minister Joomart Otorbaev, Minister of Finance Olga Lavrova, Minister of Economy Temir Sariev and Chairman of the Kyrgyz National Bank Tolkunbek Abdygulov. The two sides reviewed the current status and perspectives of cooperation between the two countries. They also discussed issues related to the Swiss voting group at the World Bank and the IMF. The Swiss voting group is composed of Switzerland, Kyrgyzstan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Poland, Serbia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and (in the World Bank) Uzbekistan. As Chair of the voting group, Switzerland represents the interest of its constituency members at the two Washington based institutions.

The Federal Councilor took the opportunity of her working visit in the Kyrgyz Republic to visit a number of development projects funded by the Swiss Government. On this occasion, Ms. Widmer-Schlumpf and the Minister of Finance Olga Lavrova, signed a project agreement on 7 July 2014 on the continuation of the Bishkek Water Supply Project. It will contribute to improving standards of water and waste water services in Bishkek. The Swiss side will grant EUR 7.45 mln. to the project, which is designed for three years. Also it will be co-financed by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) with a total budget of EUR 16.95 mln.

 

The Government of Switzerland provides assistance for the development of the Kyrgyz Republic and supports projects in areas such as health, private sector development, water management, public sector reform and infrastructure. Since 1994 Switzerland has provided around CHF 300 million (around 18 billion soms) to Kyrgyzstan in the form of technical, financial and humanitarian support.