August 26, 2021- BISHKEK – During a ceremony today at the Ministry of Emergency Situations (MES) of the Kyrgyz Republic Headquarters, the U.S. Embassy in the Kyrgyz Republic, on behalf of the U.S. Department of Defense and U.S. Central Command, handed over personal protective equipment with a total monetary value of over $44,000. This equipment, including masks, ventilation goggles, and full body suits, will enable MES personnel to better protect themselves from COVID-19 as they perform their duties.
At the ceremony, U.S. Embassy Bishkek’s Senior Defense Official, Lt Col Keith McKee was joined by Mr. Kalys Ahmatov, Deputy Minister of Emergency Situations, and other Kyrgyz officials. Lt Col McKee said that this delivery of PPE contributes to the more than five million dollars of total COVID-19 support to the Kyrgyz Republic, adding: “We look forward to pursuing future possibilities to train and work jointly with the Kyrgyz Republic.”
At the ceremony, Deputy Minister Ahmatov thanked the United States for the PPE donation and said: “Earlier, within the framework of cooperation between the Ministry and the US Embassy in the Kyrgyz Republic, a number of significant results were achieved in the field of disaster risk reduction and advanced training of Kyrgyz emergency rescue personnel. The experience of foreign countries with a strong developed civil protection system is always interesting for us in order to improve the skills of the professional activity of emergency rescue personnel, to increase the potential of the Ministry as a whole. In this regard, we are very interested in the further development of bilateral relations.”
U.S.-Kyrgyz cooperation on security related issues has been ongoing for 30 years addressing a variety of different challenges, including disaster preparedness and countering transnational threats.
