Friday, May 04, 2012 -
Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev renewed calls for more Japanese investment in the Kyrgyz economy as he met with a Japanese delegation in the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek on Friday.
“The official opening of Toyota Motor in Bishkek is a kind of model for Japanese companies,” the KyrTAG news agency reported Atambayev as saying.
“We look forward to the real presence of Japanese businesses in Kyrgyzstan.”
The Japanese delegation includes the head of the organization to develop new energy and industrial technologies, the executive vice-president of the Japanese National Corporation for Oil, Gas, and Metal (JOGMEC), and the head of Japan’s department for natural resources.
The Kyrgyz government is staunchly pro-business and is looking to attract more foreign corporations to the tiny Central Asian state to help it rebuild its economy, after a period of political instability and ethnic violence.
Japan is also interested in stepping up cooperation with Kyrgyzstan in energy and natural resources, Kenji Goto, the deputy director-general at the ministry of economy, trade, and industry (METI), said following his meeting with Atambayev.
Total Japanese investment in Kyrgyzstan was $200,000 in 2011.