BEIJING, April 27 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Defense Minister Cao Gangchuan said on Thursday that China is ready to further improve coordination with the Kyrgyzstan armed forces.

    In a meeting with his Kyrgyzstan counterpart, Ismail Isakov, Cao said China and Kyrgyzstan have enjoyed the smooth development of bilateral relations since forging diplomatic ties in 1992, with enhanced cooperation in politics, economy and security.

    The smooth and thorough settlement of boundary issues has laid a solid foundation for the stable development of the bilateral relations, Cao noted.

    As an important part of state-to-state relations, the military relations between China and Kyrgyzstan have witnessed sound development in recent years, with fruitful cooperation made in frontier defense management, personnel training and military assistance, Cao said.

    China is ready to further cement relations with the Kyrgyzstan armed forces in an effort to play a bigger role in safeguarding regional security and stability.

    Isakov, who attended the defense minister meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Beijing on Wednesday, spoke highly of China's efforts in hosting the meeting.

    The next round of SCO defense minister meetings will be held in Kyrgyzstan in 2007. Isakov said Kyrgyzstan will learn from China's experience in hosting the meeting.

    At Wednesday's meeting, defense ministers from Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan agreed to enhance defense cooperation and to stage a joint anti-terrorist military exercise in Russia in 2007. Enditem