The Senate Site: Saying Goodbye to Kyrgyzstan

By John Valentine
President of the Utah Senate

One of the high points in our visit to Kyrgyzstan was a visit with the U.S. Ambassador, Marie L. Yovanovitch in the U.S. Embassy. She shared a number of insights on our relationship with the Kyrgyzees, and reflected on the importance of the Constitutional referendum to be held on October 21, 2007. The real test will be to watch how the President of Kyrgyzstan handles the aftermath of either passage or defeat of the referendum. (Maybe a bit analogous to the issues we face as elected officials with the aftermath of the passage or defeat of the voucher referendum.)

The free press is alive and well in Kyrgyzstan. In fact, we were constantly followed by the press in our visit. It seems that U.S. visitors to this area are still unique, especially elected officials. So what did they ask about? Other than the need to have everything translated, the questions could well have been posed by our own local media. Issues regarding educational opportunities, economic development, environmental issues and U.S. relations with their country, were constantly being discussed by the print, television and radio media.

In addition to the official visits I discussed in my last blog, we also visited a couple of universities; we had previously negotiated MOUs with Utah Valley State College (UVSC) and two Kyrgyzee Universities. After the formal meetings with University officials, we were able to break out into informal discussions with students, where we learned about their attitudes and perceptions of America. America is still regarded as the premier country in which to obtain an education. Almost all of the students want to study in our country, especially to learn English. (The primary languages spoken here are Russian and Kyrgyzees.) They regard English as the language of business and want to be part of the business world. They of course have major problems with our presence in Iraq, but willingly overlook it if given an opportunity to study in America or have American professors teach in Kyrgyzstan.

A surprise and an honor: While visiting the International University of Kyrgyzstan (IUK), I addressed an assembly of students on the relationship between UVSC and IUK. I had previously been asked to prepare these remarks to them. Just before I was to give my remarks, I was informed that the students, faculty and trustees of the International University of Kyrgyzstan were going to award me an honorary professorship (equivalent to a U.S. honorary doctorate) of International Law! I quickly changed the last line of my speech, and remain grateful and humbled by the honor.

As I said goodbye to this land and its friendly people, I could not help but think of the fond feelings I have for them, especially Speaker Sultanov. He is a remarkable leader in a very interesting part of the world. We are one world and one human family, with similar goals and desires. Trips like this give Karen and I a better understanding of the problems and trials of other people. It gives us hope for them . . . and for us.