German
Foreign Minister Steinmeier has visited the central-Asian Republic of
Kyrgyzstan, praising the country as a "living democracy." However, he
also highlighted the growing threat posed to the region by extremism.
Deutsche Welle, 1 April 2016
Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Almazbek Atambayev |
While
touring Bishkek, the capital of the former Soviet Republic of Kyrgyzstan,
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier promised to deliver further
funds in aid to help the country maintain a stable democracy. Following a
meeting with President Almazbek Atambayev, Steinmeier announced that Kyrgyzstan
paid an "exceedingly important contribution to guaranteeing stability in
the region as a living, parliamentary democracy."
With the
so-called "Islamic State" movement gaining influence in the region
and recruiting a fast-growing number of locals to fight for them in Syria and
Iraq, Steinmeier also stressed that a strong democracy provided a good measure
to prevent "radicalism and fundamentalism from taking hold."
Kyrgyz
Foreign Minister Erlan Abdyldaev said, however, that in order maintain that standard,
the country needed more money.
"We
also wish for our country to be open and democratic. But democracy cannot
thrive in poverty," he said, according to the German DPA news agency.
A lifeline
out of poverty
With the
country's economy relying largely on the mining of coal and gold, 40 percent of
its 5.7 million-strong population are currently living below the poverty line,
according to the International Monetary Fund. But with Russia's economy
dragging many of its former Soviet republics down as well, stability and safety
come at a cost, which the landlocked republic can barely afford.
Kyrgyzstan
was Steinmeier's second stop in a three-day-tour of the region. Having visited Uzbekistan earlier, the foreign minister prepared to head for his final stop on
the itinerary, Tajikistan, where he is due to meet with authoritarian President
Emomali Rahmon, who has been ruling over the impoverished mountain state since
it broke off from the USSR in 1991.
ss/jr (dpa)
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