Press releases

MINSK, 26 November (BelTA) – Belarus Prime Minister Sergei Rumas and Kyrgyzstan Prime Minister Mukhammedkaliy Abylgaziyev inaugurated the memorial sign to Chinghiz Aitmatov in the Minsk park which bears the name of the writer, BelTA has learned.

The memorial was created on the initiative of Kyrgyzstan by Belarusian sculptor Ales Shatilo. The opening ceremony was attended by Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Kyrgyzstan to Belarus Kubanychbek Omuraliev, Minsk Vice Mayor Igor Yurkevich, representatives of the government bodies and organizations, diplomatic missions, artists and the general public of the city.

2018 was a landmark year for the Belarusian-Kyrgyz cooperation: in January, the countries celebrated the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations, Sergei Rumas said. “For the quarter of a century, our countries have built, not in words but in deeds, strong ties and pursue constructive cooperation based on the principles of friendship, partnership and mutual respect,” the Belarusian prime minister said. Streets in Bishkek, Kazan, Ankara, Baku, Astana, Tashkent, Luxembourg have been named after Chinghiz Aitmatov. So have a number of objects in Moscow, St. Petersburg and other cities. “I am happy that we now have such an object in Minsk. We attach importance to this not only from the point of view of further strengthening of friendly relations between our countries. Thus, we pay tribute to the great writer and humanist who is revered and remembered in Belarus,” Sergei Rumas said.

For his part, Mukhammedkaliy Abylgaziyev, on behalf of the Kyrgyz people and the president of the Kyrgyz Republic, expressed gratitude to the Belarusian people, the leadership of the country, and the Minsk city authorities for the decision to name the picturesque park in the Belarusian capital after Chinghiz Aitmatov. “It was with great joy that Kyrgyzstan learned the news about Minsk’s decision to perpetuate the memory of the prominent writer who made a great contribution not only to the life of Kyrgyzstan but also the world. We see it as a tribute to the memory of the writer,” the prime minister said. He expressed confidence that the Chinghiz Aitmatov Par will serve as a powerful symbol of friendship between the two peoples.

2018 marks 90 years since the birth of Chinghiz Aitmatov.