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UK to open embassy in Kyrgyzstan for assisting Kyrgyz army reform

The coalition base gives support to Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan

BISHKEK, August 28 (Itar-Tass) —— A British embassy will open in Kyrgyzstan soon to assist the reform of the Kyrgyz Armed Forces, a British military delegation told Kyrgyz Foreign Minister Ruslan Kazakbayev on Friday.

The delegation head also said that stabilization in Afghanistan was a priority of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and the formation of Afghan security units was being promoted so that local servicemen could take control over the military-political situation in Afghanistan.

Kazakbayev said that Kyrgyzstan valued the UK contribution to the settlement in Afghanistan. He noted that Kyrgyzstan was also assisting the coalition efforts with the deployment of the transit center at the Bishkek Manas Airport.

The coalition base gives support to Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. Kyrgyz authorities decided to close the base in 2009 but held extensive consultations with Washington and eventually renamed the base into the transit center, which annually transships hundreds of tonnes of cargo and tens of thousands of servicemen on their way to and from Afghanistan.

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