Sadyr Zhaparov officially took office as the new Kyrgyz president, becoming the sixth president of Kyrgyzstan. Zhaparov took the oath at an inauguration ceremony at the Kyrgyz National Philharmonic building in January, and then head of the country’s Central Election Commission Nurzhan Shaildabekova handed over the president’s certificate and the badge, Xinhua news agency reported.

Zhaparov said Kyrgyzstan will adhere to a multi-vector foreign policy in his speech. “Enhancing cooperation and strengthening economic and cultural ties with strategic partners is a priority of our foreign policy,” he stressed. The new Kyrgyz president expressed hope for furthering mutually beneficial cooperation with China.

He also expressed great gratitude to countries that provided all possible assistance in difficult days, especially Russia. Zhaparov also said Kyrgyzstan will make an effort to start cooperation with the United States and countries in Europe and Asia. He assured that Kyrgyzstan will fulfill international obligations within the framework of the United Nations, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the Eurasian Economic Union as well as other international organisations. Zhaparov won the January 10 early presidential election with 79.2 percent of the votes. The early presidential election was held after former President Sooronbai Jeenbekov resigned amid protests against the results of the parliamentary elections, which took place on October 4, 2020.