By Lee Jon Young

President Yoon Suk-yeol, who is in New York for the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly, held his first meeting with President Sadyr Japarov of Kyrgyzstan on the morning of September 20.

During the meeting, President Yoon requested Kyrgyzstan's support for the 2030 Busan World Expo and exchanged views on ways to develop bilateral relations through the event.

President Yoon praised the recent high-level exchanges between the two countries, and expressed his hope that people-to-people exchanges will be further enhanced through direct flights between the two countries, which opened in June. 

President Zaparov agreed with the importance of people-to-people exchanges, including high-level exchanges between the two countries, and expressed his desire to work closely to develop bilateral relations.

President Yoon said he hopes to contribute to the social and economic development of Kyrgyzstan, our ODA recipient and key development partner, through various development cooperation projects. 

President Zaparov thanked Korea for its support and looked forward to further development cooperation in various fields such as healthcare and agriculture. 

President Yoon expressed his hope that Korean companies with world-class construction capabilities could participate in Kyrgyzstan's new city construction projects. President Zaparov welcomed the participation of Korean companies with excellent technical skills and construction experience.

The two leaders used the meeting as an opportunity to further enhance bilateral exchanges.