Baku, July 21, AZERTAC
In his address to the nation, Kyrgyz President Sadyr Zhaparov spoke about the strategic importance of the construction of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway, emphasizing that the project's implementation will allow the country to overcome its transportation impasse and become an important transit country, the Kabar News Agency reported.
The Kyrgyz head of state noted that Kyrgyzstan currently lacks direct access to major global transportation corridors, making its export and import trade highly dependent on external factors.
"After the completion of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway, our country will become a transit country." "Kyrgyzstan will be the gateway to a vital link between China and the rest of the world," said Sadyr Zhaparov.
According to him, the new railway will provide Kyrgyzstan with full access to international transport routes and will be a key factor in strengthening the country's economic independence.
The president emphasized that the project's transit potential could generate stable and long-term income for Kyrgyzstan in the future.
"Transit traffic will generate stable and long-term income for Kyrgyzstan, comparable to that currently generated by the Kumtor gold mine. It could be said that this will become a second Kumtor for the country," the head of state noted.
Sadyr Zhaparov emphasized that to implement this large-scale project, Kyrgyzstan needs to attract the expertise of foreign specialists.
"If we rely solely on our own resources, training the necessary personnel will take decades. We cannot afford to wait, so we have begun implementing the project now. "Otherwise, we will lag behind our neighbors for many more years. While we are almost a century behind developed countries, due to endless political disputes, we are even 10-15 years behind our neighbors," he said.