Kyrgyzstan and EU plan to complete negotiations on new agreement by summer

"Both the European Union and Kyrgyzstan are extremely interested in completing negotiations in the near future, if possible by summer," the European Union's Special Representative for Central Asia, Peter Burian, said to 24.kg news agency.
According to him, the new agreement with Kyrgyzstan will replace the current agreement on partnership and cooperation dated 1999. The new document will be more in-depth and ambitious. Emphasis will be placed on cooperation in politics, economy and investment, as well as promoting economic cooperation in support of the sustainable development of Kyrgyzstan.
"We have made significant progress; several rounds of negotiations have been completed. We are optimistic as soon as possible to complete the negotiations, if possible by the summer. There are only a few open issues left. They mainly relate to trade part of the agreement, since the latter will be a new type of document, which focuses on trade and economic cooperation," Peter Burian stressed.