Speaking at the opening ceremony, President Putin stressed that Russian-Kyrgyz cooperation had a dependable base to rely on – the Russian language, which had the status of the second official language in Kyrgyzstan.
President Putin spoke highly of the Kyrgyz leadership’s positive attitude to expanding humanitarian cooperation and promised to promote cultural, scientific and educational contacts between the two peoples. In that context he mentioned that during the last academic year Russian universities and colleges budgeted for about 500 students from Kyrgyzstan, more than from many other countries.
President Putin then presented the Order of Friendship to Vladimir Nifadyev, Rector of Kyrgyz-Russian Slavic University.
See also
Speech at the Opening of Kyrgyz Culture Days in Russia
September 22, 2003
President Vladimir Putin met with Kyrgyz President Askar Akayev
September 22, 2003