AKIPRESS.COM - Kyrgyzstan welcomes Chinese investors to come and explore business and investment opportunities in the Central Asian country, a Kyrgyz government official told Xinhua in an interview here Wednesday.

Alymbek Orozbekov, newly appointed Director of the Investment Promotion Agency under the Ministry of Economy of Kyrgyzstan, said that the cooperation between the two countries has become increasingly active thanks to the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative.

Like many other countries in the region, Kyrgyzstan has been trying to attract Chinese investments and forge a sound business climate, he said.

The initiative "is a new and beneficial concept for the region," Orozbekov said, adding his country fully supports the initiative.

In the past two years, China has been assisting Kyrgyzstan in undertaking a series of projects to promote inter-connections, such as the road construction and repair project around Lake Issyk-Kul, the opening of an oil refinery factory, and the "Datka-Kemin" 500kV power transmission line, which, built by the Chinese company TBEA, has provided the Kyrgyz people with more convenient access to electricity and helped the country gain its highly sought-after energy independence.

Although there were some problems at the beginning of these projects, the Kyrgyz government said it fully understands them and after discussing them, almost all difficulties had been settled.

"We don't have any conceptual problems or challenges" now, he said.

Orozbekov hoped that the visit to his country earlier this May by the Chinese Manufacturers' Association of Hong Kong, during which the delegation signed a memorandum of understanding with his department, could help boost cooperation between Kyrgyzstan and China.