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Kyrgyzstan to export electricity to China

Updated: 2006-06-11 08:58

Visiting Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev said here Saturday his country is ready to export electricity to China's western region.

He also invited Chinese electricity companies to supply equipment to Kyrgyzstan and participate in the development of its power grids.

The Kyrgyz president told a China-Kyrgyzstan business forum that his country has the third largest hydropower resources in the Commonwealth of Independent States and is able to export 142 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity a year.

"However, only 10 percent of the power resources has been tapped," said Bakiyev, hoping Chinese electricity companies to provide facilities to his country and join in the development and upgrading of its electric power system.

He said Kyrgyzstan's relations with China is a priority of its overall foreign policy. Energy cooperation plays important and prior part in bilateral cooperation.

Bakiyev hopes the two countries continue to cement cooperation in the fields of energy, transportation, mine processing, nonferrous metal, agriculture and tourism.

The Kyrgyz president also called for the two countries to enhance cooperation within the World Trade Organization.

Kyrgyzstan is rich in natural resources and coal production. Chinese official statistics showed that the two-way trade reached 970 million U.S. dollars, jumping almost 27 times over that in 1992 when China and Kyrgyzstan forged diplomatic relations.

From January to April, the bilateral trade valued at 388 million U.S. dollars, souring 111.8 percent over the same period of last year.