Wednesday, June 13, 2012 -
An Italian banker took a meeting with Kyrgyzstan’s economy minister on Wednesday to discuss the possibility of exploring for gold in the Central Asian country.
Giuseppe Fornasari, chairman of Italy’s Banca Etruria, met with Economy Minister Temir Sariev in the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek to discuss the development of new gold deposits in the cash-strapped country, the Knews.kg news agency reported.
Banca Etruria is also interested in the business of providing equipment needed by miners to access the precious metals, which Kyrgyzstan has much of due to its geographic location on the Tien Shan gold belt.
The Italian lender is also interested in financing the reconstruction of the international airport in the Kyrgyz northern province of Issyk-Kul, the center of tourism in the country.
Sariev has put his support behind plans to rebuild the airport.
The plans are “the most promising project because near the airport, [there are] plans to build a large shopping center,” the minister said.