UN official to visit Kyrgyzstan for continued aid efforts

A senior official is scheduled to visit Kyrgyzstan on Sunday to continue UN efforts to help the new interim government achieve peace and development in the Central Asian country, the UN Spokesperson's Office said here Friday.

Miroslav Jenca, the UN secretary-general's special representative for Central Asia and head of the UN Regional Center for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia (UNRCCA), will begin a visit to Kyrgyzstan on Sunday, the office said in an email message to the press here.

"The secretary-general has asked Mr. Jenca to continue UN efforts to assist the authorities in Bishkek in ensuring conditions for the peaceful, prosperous, and democratic development of the country," the office added.

The United Nations and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon himself have been following the situation in Kyrgyzstan very closely after the nation was plunged into a political crisis.

Earlier on Friday, Jan Kubis, the UN special envoy, told a press conference here that Kyrgyzstan still faces a lot of challenges following the ouster of President Kurmanbek Bakiyev and the establishment of a more democratic government, and the international community should step up to the plate to help it.

Kubis, executive director of the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), made the statement upon his return from the Central Asian country, where the secretary-general had sent him as a special envoy at the height of the turmoil.

The UN and partner organizations like the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) are prepared to provide assistance according to the wishes of the provisional government.

Source: Xinhua