Turkey eyes further cooperation with Kyrgyzstan in the fields of security and defense, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar stated Wednesday.

During discussions with Kyrgyz President Sadyr Zhaparov in the capital Bishkek, Defense Minister Hulusi Akar also stressed the importance of collaboration in the fight against the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ), the group behind the 2016 defeated coup in Turkey.

Akar said the fifth meeting of the Turkey-Kyrgyzstan High Level Strategic Cooperation Council – chaired by Zhaparov and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Ankara earlier this month – gave fresh impetus to bilateral relations and produced a roadmap for the future.

The Turkish minister also visited the memorial of eminent Kyrgyz writer and diplomat Chingiz Aitmatov, where he met his son Eldar Aitmatov, before departing for Tajikistan.