The President of the Kyrgyz Republic Sooronbay Jeenbekov met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who arrived in Bishkek on an official visit, Kabar news agency reports with reference to the Kyrgyz President’s press service.

“We are always glad to meet our Russian friends. Your official visit is taking place just before a significant political event – the state visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to the Kyrgyz Republic,” Jeenbekov said, welcoming Sergey Lavrov.

“I am sure that the visit of Vladimir Vladimirovich will be a demonstration of a high level of alliance and strategic partnership based on strong traditions of historical friendship and mutual respect between our countries,” the Kyrgyz president noted.

He stated that with the accession of Kyrgyzstan to the Eurasian Economic Union, relations have shifted to a new, higher-quality level of cooperation.

“I am pleased to note the positive dynamics of growth in trade between our countries,” Jeenbekov said.

Lavrov noted that his official visit to Bishkek was devoted to the preparation of the state visit of Vladimir Putin to Kyrgyzstan, as well as to the meeting of the Intergovernmental Commission (IGC). The IGC meeting will take place on March 1, 2019.

“We appreciate our relations of alliance and strategic partnership, bilateral relations and cooperation within the framework of the CSTO, the EAEU, the SCO, the OSCE, the UN and other organizations, where we are represented together with you and we have very close ties. Today, we together with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kyrgyzstan will discuss in detail all the foreign policy tasks that the heads of our states have set before us and which ensure steady, confident work in all areas,” Lavrov stressed.

At the meeting, there was also exchange of views on topical issues of bilateral and multilateral cooperation, including the upcoming meetings of the SCO Council of Heads of State and the CSTO Collective Security Council under the chairmanship of the Kyrgyz Republic in 2019.