BISHKEK (TCA) — The Kyrgyzstan-United Arab Emirates economic forum on April 14 in Bishkek gathered representatives of governments and business communities of the two countries.
The delegation from the UAE was led by Energy Minister Suhail Mohamed Al Mazrouei and included representatives of investment companies interested in cooperation with Kyrgyzstan.
Decline in trade
Kyrgyzstan’s Economy Minister Arzybek Kojoshev told the guests about measures to improve the investment climate and tax regime and protect investors, as well as about priority areas to invest.
The existing potential of economic relations of the two countries has not been fully used. There was a sharp decline in trade between the two states over the past five years, Kojoshev said. In 2010 the trade was $311.8 million and by the end of 2015 it was $104.9 million, 66.4% less.
During the visit of the President of Kyrgyzstan Almazbek Atambayev to the UAE in December 2014 the basic agreements to establish closer trade and investment cooperation were signed including agreements on the promotion and protection of investments and avoidance of double taxation.
The Kyrgyz Government intends to create favorable conditions for the development of domestic Halal products and introduce Islamic finance instruments in the country.
Cooperation
The UAE Energy Minister expressed his country’s interest in investing in energy, mining (particularly gold mining), tourism, agriculture and infrastructure including construction of hypermarkets, power facilities, and telecommunication.
According to Suhail Mohamed Al Mazrouei, the air traffic between the two countries shows the growing interest in the UAE among Kyrgyz tourists. Thousands of Kyrgyz tourists visited the UAE in 2015. Kyrgyzstan has great tourist potential and it should have excellent hotels and smooth roads in order Arab tourists could enjoy all the beauty of Kyrgyzstan’s mountains, he added.
The head of the UAE delegation expressed readiness to implement mutually beneficial projects in energy, transportation, communications, agriculture, human resources development, new technologies, culture, and education.
The forum continued its work in four sections: economic cooperation and investment; agriculture and food industry; infrastructure and social protection; and women in business.
Investment projects
Large Kyrgyz companies such as the largest telecommunication operator MegaCom, the National Energy Holding and the Air Kyrgyzstan airline presented their investment opportunities to the UAE delegation.
The Agriculture Ministry presented a $25 million project to build a shopping logistics center not far from the Manas International Airport in Bishkek. The project aims to develop regional trade, improve the quality control and export capacity of the country.
A local development company proposed UAE investors to build a modern stadium on the basis of the existing Spartak stadium in Bishkek. The shape of the stadium would resemble the Kyrgyz string instrument, the komuz.
The Bishkek Development Agency proposed a $10 million project of a business center to be built in the place of the General Prosecutor’s Office burnt during the 2010 revolution in Kyrgyzstan.
Energy is one of priority sectors of Kyrgyzstan. The head of the National Energy Holding Aibek Kaliev said that six hydro power plant cascades with a total capacity of 4,000 megawatts can be built on the Naryn river. The Kambarata-1 HPP and the Upper Naryn HPPs cascade, as well as small hydro power plants, are the most promising projects, he added.
The $2.8 billion Kambarata-1 HPP project would build a hydro plant with a capacity of 1860 MW and annual output of 5.6 billion kWh. The project’s feasibility study is ready, said Kaliev.
A $727 million Upper Naryn cascade project includes four HPPs of 237-megawatt design capacity with an average long-term power generation of 1 billion kWh of electricity. A feasibility study has been developed and land allocated.
Kyrgyzstan has a huge potential of small HPPs, and there are 63 promising places to build them. Construction of small HPPs will cover the deficit of electricity in mountainous and remote areas of the country.
During the forum, a Memorandum of Cooperation and a Memorandum on the establishment of the Kyrgyz-UAE Business Council between the Chamber of Commerce of Kyrgyzstan and the Federation of the Chambers of Commerce of the UAE were signed.
