The construction of a garment factory near Bishkek to employ relatives of more than 80 Kyrgyz people killed during anti-government protests in April 2010 began earlier this month, according to factory construction foreman Jenish Nusubaliev, RFE/RL’s Kyrgyz Service reported. The unrest toppled then-President Kurmanbek Bakiev, who was later sentenced in absentia to several lengthy prison
During Kyrgyzstan President Sadyr Japarov’s visit to Brussels on June 25, the European Union and the Kyrgyz Republic signed an Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (EPCA), which will replace the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) signed in 1999. The document was signed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kyrgyz Republic Jeenbek Kulubaev, High Representative of the
Kyrgyzstan’s State Committee for National Security said on June 25 that “a leader and nine members” of the Yaqyn Inkar Islamic group, which is banned in the Central Asian nation, were detained in the southern Batken region, RFE/RL’s Kyrgyz Service reported. The State Committee added that 12 residents of the region denounced their membership in
The Osh regional court in southern Kyrgyzstan told RFE/RL on June 24 that a lower court had sentenced a local man, whose identity was not disclosed, to five years in prison two weeks earlier for joining Russian troops fighting in Ukraine, RFE/RL’s Kyrgyz Service reported. In January, a Bishkek court handed a suspended seven-year prison
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on June 24 said it is providing $56 million funding to the Kyrgyz Republic to improve wastewater management and enhance sustainable and inclusive tourism in Issyk-Kul region, renowned for its touristic appeal and importance. The funding comprises a $25 million concessional loan and a $31 million Asian Development Fund (ADF) grant. The Issyk-Kul region is particularly popular
The Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) has released its Macroeconomic Outlook for its six member states. According to the report, in 2024 Armenia’s GDP is expected to grow by 7.5%, Belarus’s by 3.4%, Kazakhstan’s by 5%, Kyrgyzstan’s by 5.5%, Russia’s by 3%, and Tajikistan’s by 8%. For most EDB member countries, the outlook has been upgraded
A court in Bishkek has sentenced Kyrgyz activist and Social Democratic Party member Alga Kylychev to 10 years in prison on a charge of hostage-taking, which he vehemently denies, calling it politically motivated, RFE/RL’s Kyrgyz Service reported. Bailiffs immediately arrested Kylychev after a judge at the Alamudun district court in the northern Chui region pronounced the ruling
On June 16, the Institute of Nuclear Physics in Almaty, Kazakhstan began the first delivery of molybdenum-99/technetium-99 generators to Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Energy reported on its website. On June 17, the Minister of Energy of Kazakhstan Almasadam Satkaliev visited the Institute of Nuclear Physics, which is the only research organization in Kazakhstan in the
According to the Eurasian Development Bank (EDB), today, over 2 billion people globally do not have access to safe drinking water. Without action, the situation will only worsen in the long run. By 2050, drinking water consumption is projected to increase by 1.5 times. This is why the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 6 is to
The High-level Central Asian Forum on ‘Water and Climate Change’, organized by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in cooperation with the European Union and the Ministry of Energy and Water Resources of Tajikistan earlier this month in Dushanbe, has become a cornerstone of the 3rd High-level International Conference on the International Decade for Action “Water for Sustainable
Twenty-two U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer Trainees arrived in Kyrgyzstan earlier this month to support English language education in secondary schools in Chuy, Naryn, Issyk-Kul, Talas, Osh, and Jalal-Abad regions. The Trainees have come to Kyrgyzstan at the invitation of the Kyrgyz Republic’s Ministry of Education and Science. According to the U.S. Embassy in Kyrgyzstan, the
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the International Association of Businesswomen “Tadbirkor Ayol” last week hosted the Central Asian Conference on “Women of Central Asia in the Hospitality Business: Current Challenges and Opportunities” in Tashkent. The event gathered approximately 200 women entrepreneurs, professionals, and industry experts from Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and the Kyrgyz Republic
A court in the Kyrgyz capital, Bishkek, has acquitted all members of a group facing 20 years in prison for protesting a border deal with Uzbekistan, RFE/RL’s Kyrgyz Service reported. The judge ruled on June 14 that there was insufficient evidence to convict the 27 activists. Earlier this week, prosecutors asked for lengthy sentences for
Since 2019, the U.S. government’s Jigerduu Jarandar project – through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) – has positively impacted communities across 19 municipalities in the Kyrgyz Republic. With a commitment to fostering active citizenship, the project has benefited over 62,000 residents with new parks, safer sidewalks, improved street lighting, and inclusive playgrounds. The
Several international rights groups on June 12 demanded the immediate release of over two dozen Kyrgyz activists who could be facing 20 years in prison for protesting a border deal with Uzbekistan, RFE/RL reported. Prosecutors in Kyrgyzstan asked a court in Bishkek on June 10 to hand down lengthy sentences to 27 members of a Kyrgyz group
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) on June 11 said it is pledging new funds to boost the efficiency of electricity supply in the Kyrgyz Republic by providing a financial package of up to €14 million to the government to be on-lent to the National Electric Grid of the Kyrgyz Republic, a majority state-owned electricity transmission
The Government of the Kyrgyz Republic, with the support of the World Bank Group, and co-hosted by the Government of Austria, on June 10 convened high-level delegations from Central Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and international financial institutions and private investors to discuss the future of energy in Central Asia at the Kyrgyz Republic International Energy
Kyrgyz prosecutors on June 10 asked a Bishkek court to convict and hand down lengthy sentences to 27 members of a Kyrgyz group who are on trial for protesting a border deal with Uzbekistan, RFE/RL’s Kyrgyz Service reported. The prosecutors asked for 20 years in prison for each of the defendants along with the confiscation
Long-term contracts for Russian natural gas supplies to Kyrgyzstan have been signed between Gazprom Export and Gazprom Kyrgyzstan. Long-term contracts for gas supplies have also been concluded between Gazprom Kyrgyzstan and two large gas consumers in Kyrgyzstan — Electric Stations and the Bishkekteploenergo municipal heating enterprise. Gazprom Kyrgyzstan is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Russian gas giant Gazprom
An intergovernmental agreement on the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway project was signed on June 6 in Beijing. The China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway is a strategic infrastructure project that will connect China, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan, and create a new land transport corridor between Central and East Asia. Chinese President Xi Jinping, Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov and Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev