Kyrgyzstan and Turkiye considering the possibility of using national currencies in mutual settlements.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is planning to pay an official visit to Kyrgyzstan. President of Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Zhaparov will also visit Turkiye – as part of the opening of the World Nomad Games on September 29 – October 2, head of the Kyrgyz Foreign Ministry Jeenbek Kulubaev announced in Ankara.
Kulubaev paid an official visit to Turkiye, which he assessed as very productive. He noted that since gaining independence, Kyrgyzstan has been supported by Turkiye, and some shortcomings in relations will be eliminated as a result of negotiations at the governmental level. “We are aware of Turkey’s sensitive position regarding FETO (an organization of the Islamic and public figure Fethullah Gülen, banned in Turkiye, the supporters of whom Ankara is persecuting all over the world, including in Kyrgyzstan. – NG),” Kulubaev said.
“Our security service is working hard on this issue,” Kulubaev stressed.
Recall, on the eve of Sadyr Zhaparov’s visit to Ankara in June 2021, Turkish special services, with the assistance of the Kyrgyz services abducted Orkhan Inanda, a FETO member with Turkish and Kyrgyz citizenship, director of the Sapat educational network, from the territory of Kyrgyzstan, simultaneously demanding that Zhaparov recognize FETO as a terrorist organization. No one government of Kyrgyzstan has stooped to the extradition of its own citizens to please a foreign state.
The head of the Kyrgyz Foreign Ministry also said that Bishkek attaches great importance to Turkiye’s mediation in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict: “President Erdogan’s foreign policy in solving the problems of the global food crisis and steps towards peace in Ukraine cause pride in your far-sighted policy.” “We want to open up to the world through Turkiye,” the Turkish Anadolu agency quoted Kulubaev as saying.
Bishkek views Ankara not only as a political ally, but also as an economic one. In negotiations with Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay, Kulubaev discussed the possibility of using national currencies in trade between the two countries and creating a Turkish-Kyrgyz investment fund. “I hope that by the end of the year we will reach the level of mutual trade of $1 billion,” Kulubaev added. The details of the agreements will be discussed during the meeting of the Turkiye-Kyrgyzstan high-level strategic cooperation council, which is scheduled to be held before the end of this year. However, it is worth recalling that these same plans were discussed a year ago, but they have not been promoted during this time.
Director of the Agency for Ethno-National Strategies, Doctor of Historical Sciences Alexander Kobrinsky believes that Kyrgyzstan needs money and the purpose of this visit to Turkey is rather mercantile. “Money in any form – in the form of loans, investments, aid, etc. Kyrgyzstan desperately needs money. Its national budget is about 6.7 billion dollars. At the same time, the public debt is about 5.2 billion dollars. Its annual maintenance alone requires 0.5 billion dollars. And as economists say, the maximum limit of public debt for the safe functioning of the state should not exceed 60 % of the budget,” Kobrinsky told NG.
The expert said that there is a feeling that Kyrgyzstan, like other Central Asian republics, is looking for an alternative airfield to join, fearing for the future of Russia. “From their point of view, in today’s conditions Turkey is in a more advantageous position than Russia. But those who rush about and hesitate with a changing position for the sake of the situation always cause a wary attitude towards themselves and do not command respect”, the expert is convinced.
As for Turkiye’s interest, everything is more than obvious here. “Pan-Turkist ideas and sentiments in Turkiye, strengthened by the consistent policy of building the Great Turan, the gathering of the Turkic peoples under the leadership of Turkey require security in the broad sense of the word. This explains the systemic struggle of Turkey with any opponents, opponents of both the current regime and the state (FETO, Kurds, etc.) around the world. Kyrgyzstan is no exception here. And this struggle cannot but arouse respect for its consistency and determination. This struggle is a visible example for Russia, which should learn from Turkiye,” Alexander Kobrinsky believes.
In addition, Turkiye will try to take control of the logistics routes in Central Asia from China to the EU and other countries.
He said that human potential is also important for Turkiye – both as a consumer of products and as a cheap labor force. “The topic of cheap labor is of paramount importance. Hence the fight against the Russian language in the post-Soviet space. From these positions, Kyrgyzstan is also of interest to Turkiye,” Kobrinsky emphasized, noting that Kyrgyzstan should think about what place it will take in certain unions, what are the consequences of rapprochement with certain countries, how this affects the culture and traditions of the Kyrgyz, historical positioning.
Political scientist Mars Sariev told NG that it is difficult to disagree with Kulubaev in his assessment of Turkish politics. “Erdogan’s skillful political maneuvering puts Turkiye in the category of successful states. Even Moscow perceives it as a temporary ally,” Sariev stressed. But the main thing, according to the political scientist, is the upcoming signing of an agreement on the start of construction of a railway that will connect China with Turkiye. The historical document will be signed in early September in Samarkand.
“Kyrgyzstan is becoming a transit country in this project. This issue was discussed yesterday in Baku at the talks between Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Deputy Chairman of Cabinet of Kyrgyzstan Bakyt Torobaev. This issue was also discussed in Ankara. The new route will have a great impact on the geopolitical situation: one of the key countries of Central Asia – Uzbekistan is included in the Asia-Pacific region. These changes can cause destabilization in the region,” Sariev said.
The fact is that sea communications have been controlled by the West, in particular, the United States, since the time of the Great Geographical Discoveries. This (a new rail way), according to the political scientist, does not suit Washington, especially since with the commissioning of this road, China’s positions are strengthening, including in Central Asia. This does not quite suit Russia either. In addition, the new road will compete with the Trans-Siberian Railway. Kazakhstan is also left behind, since China’s main outlet to Europe lay through the Kazakh Khorgos. “So the circles in the geopolitical field are wide apart,” Sariev summed up, recalling that a similar situation developed before the First World War, when Kaiser’s Germany built a railway to Baghdad.
Viktoria Panfilova,
“Nezavisimaya gazeta”,
August 18, 2022