Kyrgyzstan International Affairs - The Times Of Central Asia

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Google to Help Transform Kyrgyzstan’s School Education System

On his recent visit to Washington, Chairman of Kyrgyzstan’s Cabinet of Ministers Akylbek Japarov signed a memorandum of understanding with the Google Corporation to transform Kyrgyzstan’s school education system. During the meeting with Google Vice President of Government Affairs & Public Policy Mark Isakowitz, Prime Minister Japarov gave a presentation on ‘Altyn Kazyk’ (‘Polar Star’) and acknowledging Google’s support, stated: “We are proud that we have become the first country in the region to cooperate with Google Education and will apply the most advanced developments in schools throughout Kyrgyzstan, which will help our teachers and schoolchildren master the most advanced knowledge.” Scheduled to run for ten years, the project sets ambitious goals for investment in human capital. In outlining its aims, Japarov announced, “Our goal is that the children of Kyrgyzstan, our young men and women, are provided with opportunities to acquire world-class knowledge and skills and to fully realize their potential. The program is called ‘Polar Star’ because investments in human capital are our main guiding star.” The Google school furnished with the company’s educational tools, will first be launched as a pilot project at one of Bishkek’s schools this spring.

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CSTO Says It’s Satisfied With Negotiations on Kyrgyz-Tajik Border Demarcation

The Secretary General of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CTSO), Imangali Tasmagambetov, said in an interview with Tajik media that Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan are managing to peacefully resolve their border conflict. "The will of the political leadership of the two countries made it possible not only to start and successfully carry out the delimitation of the state border, but also to reach a political solution to the problem," said Tasmagambetov. The problem of a common border between the two countries arose after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The two countries both laid claim to lands rich in water resources. Because of this, there are periodic conflicts between citizens of border villages and residents of enclaves. In some cases, domestic clashes have turned into armed clashes with the use of heavy weapons. One of the bloodiest episodes occurred in September 2022. Military and civilian infrastructure on both sides of the border was destroyed and hundreds of people were injured. The situation in the disputed territories is also monitored by the CSTO, of which Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan are both members. Representatives of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan meet once or twice a month to agree on the demarcation of the disputed section of the border. The heads of the national security services were also involved in negotiations. To date, the sides have agreed on about 800 kilometers of the common border from the previously disputed 975 kilometers. Kyrgyz authorities are making every effort to finally resolve the border issue. The head of the State Committee for National Security (SCNS), Kamchibek Tashiyev, commented: "In order not to repeat all this [fighting on the border] we need to resolve the border issue. We are working on it. God willing, we hope it will be resolved. We have found a common language, the work is going on in a good way. As soon as everything is resolved, we will open the border and live in good neighborly relations. Neighbors are not chosen. God gave us a neighbor, and we must live with him in peace and harmony."

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Kyrgyz PM Japarov In U.S. For Talks With Energy Investors

Kyrgyzstan's prime minister Akylbek Japarov is in the United States this week, and will meet with potential investors as Kyrgyzstan looks to grow its energy sector. Japarov will meet with the heads of the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the U.S.-Kyrgyz Chamber of Commerce, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, Asian Development Bank and the European Investment Bank. He will also meet with representatives of leading tech corporations, according to the Kyrgyz government's press service. Kyrgyzstan's largest energy project is the construction of a hydroelectric power plant on the Naryn River, for which the World Bank has allocated a soft loan of $5 million for a feasibility study. Kyrgyz authorities are also negotiating a $500 million loan to construct the hydropower plant. In total, according to current estimates, the project will cost about $5 billion. The Times of Central Asia has previously reported that the Kyrgyz Chamber of Commerce and Industry intends to open representative offices in the U.S.

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Kyrgyz Taxi Drivers to Continue Working in Russia

Kyrgyz officials attended a meeting in Moscow and persuaded Russian lawmakers to withdraw a draft document that would ban Kyrgyz citizens from working as taxi drivers. Following the terrorist attack at the Crocus City Hall near Moscow on March 22, Russian State Duma representatives prepared a bill to ban foreigners from working in the passenger transport industry using their home countries' driver's licenses. The unprecedented decision came against the background of an acute shortage of taxi drivers and public transport workers. The capital region alone lacks 80,000 drivers. In an interview with Kyrgyz state media, Jogorku Kenesh (Supreme Council) representative Marlen Mamataliyev said the parliamentary delegation held a number of talks with members of various Russian State Duma factions. At one such meeting, Kyrgyz representatives presented their arguments to their Russian counterparts to have the bill withdrawn before the committee's discussions. "We explained that Kyrgyzstan has tightened the issuing of driving licenses and, even, the president's niece was able to get a driving license only on the fifth attempt. We also suggested exchanging databases of drivers. This would allow Russian law enforcement agencies to track the authenticity of driver's licenses," Mamataliyev said. According to him, Russian colleagues listened to them and put the bill on hold. After arriving in Kyrgyzstan, the deputies instructed the Interior Ministry to speed up the creation of a unified database of driver's licenses and give Russian law enforcement agencies access to it. However, one of the authors of the bill, Duma deputy Yaroslav Nilov, told the media that no one had contacted him. "I am the author of this bill and no one has held any negotiations with me... I believe that the issue of safety should be a priority for our country, including this driving with a national driving license," he said. The Russian MP believes that if Kyrgyz citizens work in freight or passenger transport, they should have Russian-style driver's licenses like citizens of other countries. The exception is citizens of Belarus, another Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) state, alongside Kyrgyzstan. Nilov admitted the possibility of a simplified procedure for issuing Russian driver's licenses to citizens of Kyrgyzstan, but not its complete cancellation. Citizens of the EAEU can drive cars in member states using their domestic driver's license. However, not all countries allow such drivers to get a job. According to official data, about a million Kyrgyz citizens live in Russia today, and many of them continue to work in taxi transportation and municipal public transport using Kyrgyz driving licenses.

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In Fear of Sanctions, Kyrgyz Banks Shun Russian Cards

Kyrgyzstan's Interbank Processing Center (IPC) reports that on April 5 it will stop servicing the Russian payment system 'MIR'. The decision was made "to minimize the risk of secondary sanctions." Interbank is a Kyrgyz company that services the national payment system, called ElCard. In 2019 Interbank entered into a partnership with MIR, so that citizens of both countries could pay with their domestic bank cards while in either Russia or Kyrgyzstan. On February 23 the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), which is responsible for controlling foreign assets that involve U.S. dollars and/or the U.S. banking system, imposed sanctions on Russia's MIR. Earlier, the National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic told The Times of Central Asia that it doesn't interfere in the activities of commercial banks in Kyrgyzstan, but only monitors compliance with the country's legislation on combating the financing of terrorist activities and laundering of criminal proceeds. Therefore, Kyrgyz banks can independently decide whether or not to work with the Russian payment system. Kyrgyz banks that have accounts with western financial organizations ceased working with the MIR system in 2022, after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. After ElCard severed its ties with the Russians, all financial organizations in Kyrgyzstan also stopped accepting MIR cards. This decision has hit Kyrgyz citizens in Russia as well, because Russian ATMs and POS terminals have stopped accepting their ElCards. But, as the Kyrgyz National Bank has explained, this decision will not affect international transfers. "It should be noted that the possibility of money transfers from the Kyrgyz Republic to the Russian Federation and vice versa with the use of mobile applications of commercial banks in the presence of direct contractual relations between Kyrgyz and Russian commercial banks, as well as through money transfer systems without opening an account, will remain," Kyrgyzstan's financial regulator writes on its website. Banks in several other Central Asian countries have refused to cooperate with MIR, also for fear of falling under U.S. sanctions. Since February 27 banks in Kazakhstan have stopped servicing MIR cards. At the same time, the Central Bank of Kazakhstan emphasizes that each Kazakh bank makes this decision independently. "Our position is as follows: we as a first-tier bank do not interfere in the operating system of second-tier banks... It is their commercial interests, economic expediency. They calculate their own risks and benefits by having compliance services," said the Central Bank's bank's press service at the time. Besides Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, Armenia has refused to cooperate with the MIR system for the same reasons. And now Tajikistan -- and even Moscow's closest ally, Belarus -- are distancing themselves from it. The national payment systems of these countries -- Belarus's Belkart and Tajikistan's Korti Milli -- had agreements with the Russians that are similar to MIR's arrangement with the Kyrgyz. Currently Uzbek banks do not accept the MIR payment system either, as the UZCARD processing center has suspended work with the Russian system. In response, the Russian Central Bank has commented...

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Kyrgyz Businesses Make Play to Raise Profile in America

Kyrgyzstan's ambassador to the United States and Canada, Baktybek Amanbaev, recently met with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's chief representative for Central Asia, Jennifer Miel, to discuss stepping up the nations' trade and economic ties. Kyrgyzstan's foreign ministry reports that ambassador Amanbaev told Ms Miel about the country's resource potential, as well as opportunities for private business development in Kyrgyzstan. According to Amanbaev, Kyrgyzstan is particularly keen to work with American investors on hydropower, mineral development, agriculture and textile projects. American companies already working in Kyrgyzstan include General Electric, Visa, Coca-Cola, Valmont, Medtronic and Borusan. According to Kyrgyzstan's National Statistical Committee, in the first nine months of 2023 Kyrgyzstan imported from the U.S. goods worth more than $300,000, predominantly cars and car parts. Kyrgyzstan also buys spare parts for bulldozers, excavators and trucks from American suppliers. In turn, Kyrgyz businesses export textiles, antiques, wool and animal products to the U.S. Kyrgyz entrepreneurs sell most of their goods in the U.S. through Amazon, Walmart and Ebay. The Kyrgyz Chamber of Commerce has told The Times of Central Asia that local businesses aiming to do more business in America have approached the Chamber to expand their contacts and find potential partners. The Chamber has already begun work on opening Kyrgyz trade missions in major U.S. cities, and negotiations with local authorities are underway. Soon Kyrgyz business will be represented in Los Angeles, Chicago and Miami. A few weeks ago, Kyrgyzstan's North American ambassador Amanbaev met with an executive of the satellite internet provider Starlink, to discuss providing the Kyrgyz public with high-speed internet via American Starlink satellites.