Thursday, January 29, 2026
The Consul General of Kyrgyz Republic in İstanbul, Chyngyz Toktobekoviç, paid a courtesy visit to the Mayor of İzmir Metropolitan Municipality, Dr. Cemil Tugay. Discussions focused on sister city relations between İzmir and Bishkek, as well as opportunities for commercial and tourism cooperation. Mayor Tugay invited the Kyrgyz delegation to the spring festival celebrations planned in İzmir on March 21 and announced his wish to commemorate Kyrgyz author Cengiz Aytmatov by naming a library in the city after him.
The Mayor of İzmir Metropolitan Municipality Dr. Cemil Tugay hosted Consul General Chyngyz Toktobekoviç and the accompanying Kyrgyz delegation. The meeting, held at İzmir Sanat, was attended by senior municipal and consular officials.
“We Want to Revitalize Relations with Our Sister City Bishkek”
Mayor Tugay expressed his pleasure in hosting the Kyrgyz delegation and noted that although İzmir and Bishkek are sister cities, relations have not reached the desired level.
“We definitely want to revitalize relations between our two cities during this term. We recently celebrated Turkic Language Family Day here in İzmir and invited students from Turkic republics studying in our city; around 40 Kyrgyz students attended. We feel very close to Kyrgyzstan. If there is anything I can do as Mayor of İzmir Metropolitan Municipality to support trade and investment, I am ready. Our relations with Kyrgyzstan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan must certainly develop. The potential of these regions will be very important in the future. We need to support one another,” he said.
“We Want to Celebrate a Beautiful Holiday”
Mayor Tugay also announced plans to organize a special celebration on March 21 to mark the arrival of spring together with sister countries.
“We are planning to hold a spring celebration on March 21 with our sister nations and would appreciate your support and participation. We will invite artists from Türkiye and other countries, organize a major concert and various events. We want to celebrate a beautiful holiday. We have a wonderful area in Kültürpark for this event, and it will be a first for İzmir,” he stated.
Consul General Toktobekoviç emphasized the importance of strengthening mutual relations and invited Mayor Tugay to Kyrgyzstan. He noted that enhancing trade agreements and tourism would contribute to the development of both countries and expressed readiness to host interested industrialists and businesspeople in Kyrgyzstan.
A Gesture for Cengiz Aytmatov
Mayor Tugay stated that he wishes to immortalize world-renowned writer Cengiz Aytmatov in İzmir through literature:
“I admire Cengiz Aytmatov very much, and therefore I also feel admiration for the Kyrgyz people. We want to undertake initiatives connected to literature. We need to tell more people about him. I would like to open a library in his name and bring his statue to the city.”
In response, Consul General Toktobekoviç said, “We stand by you. We feel very fortunate to meet a mayor who deeply appreciates Cengiz Aytmatov. This makes us very happy.”
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