Bishkek: Deputy Minister of Economy and Commerce of the Kyrgyz Republic and Director of Tourism Department at the Ministry H E Samat Shatmanov affirmed that the visit of Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani to Kyrgyzstan is a great opportunity to launch a constructive touristic cooperation and build an effective partnership between the relevant institutions of both countries to develop relations in this vital and important sector.
In an interview with QNA, he said that Kyrgyzstan strongly wants to cooperate with Qatar in various fields, most notably tourism, especially since both countries have huge potential in this sector, which allows them to launch investment partnership and projects that benefit both sides.
He asserted his belief in that the visit of H H the Amir will give a strong impetus to strengthen cooperation between Kyrgyzstan and Qatar, yielding very positive results on bilateral cooperation in all vital fields.
The Kyrgyz Deputy Minister of Economy and Commerce said that the State of Qatar enjoys an advanced sustainable economy and a wealth of experience in tourism investment. As such, Shatmanov said that the Kyrgyz side is strongly interested in expanding cooperation with Qatar in the tourism sector, particularly in attracting investors to invest in touristic projects, in cooperation with the Kyrgyz National Investment Agency.
He highlighted the many commonalities shared by both countries, most important of which is having the same religion. Consequently, the Kyrgyz leadership is eager to consolidate bilateral relations, which have been developing and moving in the right direction since independence.
He added that the Ministry of Economy and Commerce, which supervises the tourism sector in Kyrgyzstan, intends on organising touristic events and activities as a form of consolidating relations between the Kyrgyz Republic and the State of Qatar.
He indicated that the Kyrgyz tourism sector intends to participate in conferences, forums, and touristic events organized by the State of Qatar, with the aim of promoting tourism in Kyrgyzstan and benefiting from Qatars expertise in the field.
He explained that Kyrgyzstan and Qatar have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Doha in 2014, on cooperation in the field of tourism. He added that the Tourism Department of the Kyrgyz Ministry of Economy and Commerce is working within the framework of this MoU to enhance cooperation with Qatar in tourism, through economic cooperation between the chambers of commerce and industry in both countries.
