President Meloni’s remarks with the President of the Kyrgyz Republic

Thank you very much, thank you for being here. I am aware of the travel you had to undertake to attend this summit, which I believe is very important. This is the first time a summit is being held between Italy and the Central Asian republics at leaders’ level, and this is intended to be a sign of the attention Italy is paying and attributes to this region.

As you know, we were the first country in the European Union to organise a permanent format for dialogue, and it also seems we in some way charted the course, as we also then saw a summit being held between the European Union and the Central Asian republics. We are therefore pleased if we have managed to convey the message of the importance of this region, of this territory, which is historically a crossroads, a place where East meets West, where Asia meets Europe. Italy clearly attributes very significant strategic importance to this region, but also to your country, also to Kyrgyzstan.

I simply must offer you my congratulations on the border delimitation agreement with Tajikistan, a historic step for the region’s stability, and so my sincere congratulations.

I would also like to recall that our bilateral relations are excellent; we are signing another agreement today. However, the fact our relations are excellent doesn’t mean we can’t work to do more. There are many areas in which we can implement our cooperation. I am therefore happy to have this second opportunity to meet with you, and I am sure it won’t be the last to discuss how we can strengthen our relations even further.

Thank you.