President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has sent a Congratulatory Message to her colleague, the President of the Kyrgyz Republic, His Excellency Mr. Almazbek Atambayev, on that country’s 26th Independence Anniversary on August 31st, 2017.

Independence Day in Kyrgyzstan is celebrated on August 31. It is a national holiday that commemorates the independence of Kyrgyzstan from the Soviet Union in 1991.

The territory of present-day Kyrgyzstan officially became part of the Russian Empire in 1876. Following the 1917 Russian Revolution, it was incorporated into the Soviet Russia. In 1919, the region was designated as the Kara-Kirghiz Autonomous Oblast within the Russian SFSR.

In 1915, it was renamed the Kirghiz Autonomous Oblast. A year later, the Soviet government re-organized it into the Kirghiz Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. In 1936, the Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic was established.

Kyrgyzstan (then Kirghizia) remained part of the Soviet Union until 1991. The country's democratic movement gained momentum in 1990, when the country was renamed to the Republic of Kyrgyzstan. Complete independence of Kyrgyzstan was declared on August 31, 1991, following a failed coup in Moscow.

According to a Foreign Ministry release, President Sirleaf, on behalf of the Government and people of Liberia and in her own name, extended heartfelt congratulations and best wishes to President Atambayev, and through him the Government and people of the Kyrgyz Republic on the occasion of its 26^th Independence Anniversary.

“I entertain the hope that the cordial ties of friendship and cooperation subsisting between our two countries and peoples will be strengthened, as we work together in furtherance of deeper cooperation at the United Nations and other international forums aimed at promoting international peace, security and development in our world,” the Liberian leader said.

She prayed that the Almighty God will continue to endow His Excellency Mr. Atambayev with abundant wisdom and strength as he leads his people to nobler heights.