Strengthening of integration contacts between Kyrgyzstan and the EAEU

The course towards Eurasian integration, which has been set by President Almazbek Atambayev and supported by the majority of the Kyrgyz population, will be continued, notwithstanding the results of the upcoming parliamentary elections. This conclusion was made by Russian and Kyrgyz experts who participated in the International Round Table “Strengthening of Integration Contacts between Kyrgyzstan and the EAEU in the Context of the Upcoming Parliamentary Elections” which took place in Orenburg on September 15th. The event was organized by the ANO Commonwealth of Peoples of Eurasia and the NII of History and Ethnography of the Southern Urals of Orenburg State University, as well as the local ethnic-cultural autonomy of Kyrgyz people in Orenburg 'Mekendesh' (Compatriot).

Experts of the two countries participated in the round-table discussion: political scientists, sociologists, historians and representatives of the regional Kyrgyz diaspora, ethnic-cultural entities, and Orenburg’s media.

Participants in the round table discussed various questions which directly touch on two topical vectors – the future of Russian-Kyrgyz relations through the prospects of bilateral projects and cooperation within Eurasian integration, and prospects of Kyrgyzstan in the context of the upcoming parliamentary elections. The results of the elections, according to experts, should confirm the right course toward Eurasian integration, which has been chosen by President of Kyrgyzstan Almazbek Atambayev.

The Vice-Governor, Deputy Head of the government, the head of the Apparatus of the Governor and the Government of the Orenburg Region, Dmitry Kulagin, noted in his speech: “Kyrgyzstan is a key partner of Russia in the south of Central Asia. And Kyrgyzstan’s joining of the EAEU opens up new opportunities for cooperation in the bilateral and multilateral formats.”

Professor Venaly Amelin, the Director of the ANO Commonwealth of Peoples of Eurasia, President of the Assembly of Peoples of the Orenburg Region, PhD (History), recalled in his speech that the current head of Kyrgyzstan, Almazbek Atambayev, made a very important, strategically correct decision to move toward Eurasian integration. Time has shown that this choice has been right. According to recent statistics, more than 80% of Kyrgyz population supports the idea of Eurasian integration. All leading parties of the country also stand for it, primarily the presidential Social Democratic Party of Kyrgyzstan. Its election platform states that after joining the EAEU, Kyrgyzstan has real prospects for development of the energy and agricultural complexes, while the growth of the general economic potential of the country could become 20-25%. This will lead not only to qualitative shifts in the development of the country’s economy, but also to an increase of living standards for all Kyrgyz citizens. Therefore, success in the parliamentary elections of political forces which are directed towards Eurasian integration and partnership is a guarantee of the stable development of the country.

Bolot Aytkulov, a Kyrgyz political scientist, confirms that a phased joining of the EAEU meets the long-term vital interests of Kyrgyzstan, and it will depend on the results of the upcoming elections. Even today, Russia is the major key foreign political partner and the main investor of the country. Together with Russia, important projects in the hydro-energy and gas spheres are being implemented. The Kyrgyz-Russian Development Fund was established. It finances investment projects on the territory of the Central Asian republic. The country’s membership of the EAEU opens up huge additional opportunities for it: access to the common market with a population of 180 million people, a shift to modern standards of customs and tax administration, which will reduce corruption. However, this can only be provided through the deepening of Eurasian integration which was started by President Atambayev.

Toktogul Kakchekeyev, a tutor at the Kyrgyz-Russian Slavic University, stresses the obvious benefits to the republic from its membership of the EAEU in the sphere of the development of labor migration. Citizens of Kyrgyzstan, as a member-state of the union, will be free from the need to obtain licenses, patents and other permission documents. Labor quotas won’t affect them anymore. Diplomas of Kyrgyz universities and other educational facilities will be recognized in the EAEU countries. All these facts give Kyrgyz citizens hopes for broader guarantees abroad, successful careers and achievements in education. “I am a desert alone, but together we are the sea!” he finished his speech with a Kyrgyz proverb.

In her speech, Anna Vlasova, a senior expert of the Political Scientific Center 'North-South' for Development of Information and Scientific Contacts with Foreign Countries, focused on a balance of political forces in the parliament of Kyrgyzstan ahead of the elections. She stresses three important moments: the first is that the elections are taking place in the context of Kyrgyzstan’s accession to the EAEU; the second one is an active search for a unifying agenda for Kyrgyz society – without separation into regions and social groups. The third factor is that almost all parties have similar political platforms, but such parties as the SDPK have a practical experience of solving management problems and seem to be more professional on the background of populist opposition parties.

As a result of the round table, participants pointed out the need to preserve the succession of the political course of Kyrgyzstan in order to provide stability, a gradual development of the country, using the benefits and advantages which appear due to its economic integration with Russia and other EAEU members.