The parliamentary elections of 2015 are an important step towards the further development of the political system of Kyrgyzstan on the way to Eurasian integration, the condition for further development of the country in political and economic spheres. Russian and Kyrgyz experts discussed issues of cooperation between the two countries in the context of the upcoming parliamentary elections at the international round table "Key issues and perspectives of development of cooperation between the Russian Federation and the Kyrgyz Republic. The Eurasian aspect" in Yekaterinburg on September 23rd 2015.
The event was organized by the expert club 'Ural Eurasia' with the support of the government of Sverdlovsk Oblast, the Ural Federal University and the Central Asian Centre of the Ural Federal University. The round-table discussion was attended by representatives of the Ministry of International and Foreign Economic Relations of the Sverdlovsk Region, historians, political scientists and journalists from Moscow and Yekaterinburg, as well as experts from Kyrgyzstan and representatives of diasporas from Central Asian countries.
From the Russian side the event was attended by the head of the International Relations Department of the Ministry of International and Foreign Economic Relations of Sverdlovsk Region Oleg Alexandrin, an expert and leading specialist of the Political Science Center 'North-South' on development of information and scientific ties with foreign countries Anna Vlasova, and the director of the Central Asian Center of the Ural Federal University, member of expert club 'Ural-Eurasia' Rustam Ganiev.
The Kyrgyz side was presented by an external expert of the National Institute of Strategic Studies of the Kyrgyz Republic Bolot Aitkulov, expert of the Institute of CIS countries, editor-in-chief of the federal Kyrgyz information agency REGNUM, editor-in-chief of the Central Asian informational website StanRadar.com Grigory Mikhailov and the chairman of the Students' Association of the Kyrgyz Republic Shamil Togtogolov.
Oleg Alexandrin noted that "for Russia, Kyrgyzstan is an important strategic partner. The policy of Eurasian integration defined by President Atambayev is supported by most of the population," and inter-regional cooperation is of great importance in Russian-Kyrgyz relations. "First and foremost, this is a question of the existing infrastructure, which includes legal instruments and institutions operating in the Sverdlovsk Region. A Consulate General of the Kyrgyz Republic operates on the territory of Yekaterinburg, it is of key importance in the development of relations between our countries. First of all, this concerns labor migrants, of whom there are 40 thousand in Ekaterinburg alone. The accomplishments of the last years in the sphere of bilateral relations are the result of the effective implementation of the strategic course of the Presidents of Russia and the Kyrgyz Republic, aimed at integration."
"Close relations have always been characteristic of our two countries, we can say with confidence that Russia and Kyrgyzstan have developed truly allied relations with each other," Bolot Aitkulov stated. He noted that Kyrgyzstan's desire to become a full partner in such a formation as the EAEU is dictated by concern for the interests of the population of the country, the growth of welfare of all its citizens and the growth of the economy as a whole: "Our republic gets access to such an attractive market of 180 million people (not only Russia and Kazakhstan, but also remote Armenia and Belarus). It is believed that with the ascension to the EAEU, Kyrgyzstan will move to new standards of quality."
Anna Vlasova noted that "the cooperation between the Russian Federation and the Kyrgyz Republic has the character of a close strategic partnership and is characterized by high dynamics of political dialogue development. We can confidently say that the strategic character of cooperation between the two countries has already been tested for durability by shocks and crises." The expert stressed that "parliamentary elections in Kyrgyzstan should become an important step in the further development of democratic institutions, development of parliamentarianism and modernization of the party political system of the country, regardless of the outcome of the vote."
Assessing the prospects of the upcoming parliamentary elections in Kyrgyzstan, the experts agreed that current integration policy is yielding practical results, and this will be reflected in the outcome of the pre-election campaign, especially in the expected high rates of support for the pro-presidential party, the Social Democratic Party of Kyrgyzstan.
The editor-in-chief of the Central Asian informational website StanRadar.com, Grigory Mikhailov (Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan), spoke about the prospects of the participation of Kyrgyzstan in the EAEU. "One of the most significant results of accession of Kyrgyzstan to the EAEU," the expert shared his opinion, "was the considerable easing of the lives of migrant workers. However, if we talk more broadly, the participation of the republic in the integrational association gives it a chance to implement large-scale and long-term economic projects. It is interesting to note that the EAEU, as a trend of movement of the country, has already been accepted in Kyrgyzstan, which is evidenced by the absence of criticism of the union in the programs of all the political parties. Only one question remains – how exactly will the participation of the republic in this union be implemented?"
As a result, the participants of the round-table discussion came to the conclusion that the future of Kyrgyzstan largely depends on the outcome of the upcoming presidential elections. According to experts, the elections should confirm the correctness of Eurasian integration policy. The Eurasian choice of Kyrgyzstan will improve not only the trading environment, but also create conditions for the restoration of agricultural production and the re-industrialization of the country. This issue was considered to be the main one on the agenda of the country, which reflects the correctness of the country's leadership's choice in favor of integration with historical strategic partners, primarily with Russia.
