President Suleyman Demirel received Kyrgyzstan President Askar Akayev in an official ceremony at the Presidential Palace yesterday. Speaking at the ceremony, Demirel said that the two countries enjoy great geographic importance. "Our mutual relations as well as our multilateral cooperation play an important role in regional peace and stability", Demirel stated. Akayev, for his part, said that being in Turkey is an honour and represents a light of hope, adding that this visit has greater significance than past ones. Following the ceremony, the two Presidents talked privately, with the delegations meeting afterwards. After the meeting between the two delegations, four agreements and a joint declaration were signed. Among the agreements were commitments to prevent double taxation and a protocol for cooperation between the two countries' Finance Ministries. Speaking about the agreement on the prevention of double taxation, Akayev said this will result in an increase in the trade volume between the two countries. /All papers/