Kyrgyzstan President Almazbek Atambayev has proposed the establishment of a large joint venture Saudi-Kyrgys bank to finance big mining and agriculture projects in his country.

The proposal came at Atambayev’s meeting on Tuesday with the Chairman of Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI), and of Saudi Chambers Council, Abdul Raham Al-Zamil, the RCCI board members, and top Riyadh businessmen, at the chamber headquarters here.

“Kyrgyzstan has promising investment opportunities in various fields with political stability and investment-encouraging laws. The Europeans are currently taking advantage of this, so I invite the Saudis to do so as well,” he told Saudi business leaders.

Al-Zamil welcomed the visit of Atambayev to RCCI and his proposal, and lauded the brotherly relations between the people of Kyrgyzstan and the Kingdom and noted that Saudi businessmen expressed interest in Kyrgyzstan for a long time, but the lack of business activity is due to the lack of direct transportation links between the two countries.

“ So, I suggest the revival of the old proposal of founding an Islamic bank to finance the transportation projects between central Asia and the Kingdom to contribute to the flow of trade between the two regions,” Al-Zamil added.

The Atambayev, who proceeded to the UAE on Thursday after concluding his visit to the Kingdom, held talks with Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah and Crown Prince Salman, deputy premier and minister of defense, on major regional and international issues as well as on expanding bilateral cooperation.

After the UAE, Atambayev will end his Gulf tour by visiting Qatar.

Kyrgyzstan is a former country of the Soviet bloc. It became independent in 1991 with the collapse of the Soviet Union. Boasting a population of 5.8 million, 85 percent of them Muslims of central Asia Turkic ethnicity, the country is planning to join Eurasian Economic Union alongside Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia to strengthen economic ties.