BISHKEK, Kyrgyz republic –

On 1 and 2 February, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the UN Regional Centre for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia (UNRCCA), Miroslav Jenča, visited Kyrgyzstan to meet with President Almazbek Atambaev, Speaker of the Parliament Asylbek Jeenbekov, Prime Minister Omurbek Babanov and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ruslan Kazakbaev. He also met with former president Roza Otunbaeva and representatives of civil society, national minorities and the international community.

The Special Representative commended Kyrgyzstan on the recent democratic transfer of power to the new President. He also noted that the new Government should work to make concrete progress in its priority areas, which include the fight against corruption, inter-ethnic reconciliation and judicial and law enforcement reform. This would help to secure the people's trust by strengthening stability, ensuring peace and improving their daily life. In this respect, he welcomed the President's announcement that 2012 would be designated as the Year of the Family, Peace, Accord and Mutual Forgiveness.

During the meetings, the interlocutors also discussed developments related to socio-economic situation, further reconstruction in the south, as well as some aspects of regional cooperation.

The UN system remains committed to supporting these priority areas and will continue to work closely with the Government of Kyrgyzstan.