Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- Prime Minister of the Kyrgyz Republic Ulukbek Maripov, as part of a working trip to the Republic of Uzbekistan, met in the city of Tashkent with representatives of the Kyrgyz diaspora who live in the village of Manas, Jizzakh region of the Republic of Uzbekistan. This is reported by the Government portal of the Kyrgyz Republic.

The Prime Minister expressed gratitude to compatriots living in the Republic of Uzbekistan for the careful preservation of the culture and traditions of the Kyrgyz people.

“I am glad to meet you and to convey the words of greetings on behalf of the President of the Kyrgyz Republic. Unfortunately, due to the busy program, we did not have time to come to the village, but I am glad to hear that everything is fine with you and that you are happy with life here. I would like to express my gratitude to the leadership of the Republic of Uzbekistan, which pays great attention to the development and improvement of the village where ethnic Kyrgyz live,” said Ulukbek Maripov.

The representative of the diaspora noted that at present more than 300 thousand people of ethnic Kyrgyz live in the Republic of Uzbekistan.

“The village of Manas, the most remote from the center of the region, appeared in the 60s of the last century. Today it is home to over 6.5 thousand people. We are very glad to meet in person and to have the opportunity to talk freely. We live in abundance, all conditions have been created for us. In total, there are 55 general education Kyrgyz schools in the Republic of Uzbekistan, of which 14 are fully Kyrgyz-speaking. We very much hope that following the visit of the head of state to the Republic of Uzbekistan, negotiations on the completion of the delimitation and demarcation of the interstate border will be intensified,” Rakhmatulla Jabbanov said.

The Prime Minister listened to the wishes of the Kyrgyz diaspora and answered questions of interest.

During the meeting, it was noted that within the framework of the days of culture of the Republic of Uzbekistan in the Kyrgyz Republic, participants of the artistic song and dance ensemble "Marjan" of the village of Manas, Jizzakh region of the Republic of Uzbekistan will be able to come to their historical homeland, the Kyrgyz Republic.

Recall that the Prime Minister of the Kyrgyz Republic Ulukbek Maripov arrived in the city of Tashkent to participate in the IX meeting of the Joint Intergovernmental Commission on Bilateral Cooperation between the Kyrgyz Republic and the Republic of Uzbekistan.