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Putin to spend working day in Kyrgyzstan Sept 20

The two countries will sign an agreement on the settlement of Kyrgyzstan’s debt to Russia in the amount of about 500 million U.S. dollars

BISHKEK, September 20 (Itar-Tass) —— Russian President Vladimir Putin will spend his working day in Kyrgyzstan on Thursday, September 20.

He will sign a number of bilateral documents, including an inter-governmental agreement on the status and terms of deployment of the Russian military base in Kyrgyzstan and on the construction and operation of the Kambarata-1 Hydropower Plant and Verkhne-Naryn HPP cascade.

The two countries will also sign an agreement on the settlement of Kyrgyzstan’s debt to Russia in the amount of about 500 million U.S. dollars.

The agenda includes “a wide range of political, military, economic and humanitarian issues”, presidential aide Yuri Ushakov said.

Putin and Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev will discuss prospects for cooperation in integration associations and regional organisations, as well as cooperation in the fuel and energy sector, primarily power industry.

Putin arrived in Kyrgyzstan from Kazakhstan where he participated in the IX Forum of Inter-Regional Cooperation between Russia and Kazakhstan.

Atambayev said earlier that Russia is a strategic partner for Kyrgyzstan and cooperation with it is of "special importance" for his country.

“There are no disagreements in our relations with Russia. There are questions the resolution of which has been delayed for a long time,” he said.

According to official statistics, trade turnover between Russia and Kyrgyzstan in the first three months of the year exceeded one billion U.S. dollars compared to one-third of this sum five years ago.

Russia is a leading economic partner of Kyrgyzstan where Russian companies have a big presence. Trade turnover between the two countries in 2008 had reached 1.8 billion U.S. dollars, but shrank to 1.4 billion U.S. dollars in 2010.