BISHKEK (TCA) — On February 2, leaders of Kyrgyz opposition parties harshly criticized the Government at the parliamentary meeting that discussed results of Kyrgyzstan’s membership of the Eurasian Economic Union. Omurbek Tekebayev, leader of the Ata Meken opposition parliamentary faction, said the Government of Prime Minister Sooronbai Jeenbekov did nothing to improve the economic situation in the country and to create favorable conditions for local businesses to enter the EEU market.
The apparel production has decreased 23-fold after joining the EEU. Entrepreneurs cannot sell their products in the neighboring countries, Tekebayev said. Exports have decreased by 20%. The Government planned to create 50 thousand jobs but there are no data on the number of jobs created, he added.
The Government also cannot arrange export of Kyrgyz goods to European Union markets under the GSP+ preferences, Tekebayev said.
Omurbek Babanov, leader of the Respublika—Ata Jurt parliamentary faction, said the Government does not help domestic agricultural producers as Russia and Kazakhstan do. Since Kyrgyzstan joined the EEU, the country’s trade turnover with EEU member states has fallen 19%, he said.
The Ata Meken parliamentary faction will start collecting signatures for the expression of a vote of no confidence to the Government of Jeenbekov, Tekebayev concluded.
On February 3, another parliamentary faction — Onuguu-Progress — said it would support Ata Meken’s initiative.
Respublika—Ata Jurt, however, does not support Ata Meken’s initiative to express a vote of no confidence to the Government, Omurbek Babanov told journalists on February 3. “We are not satisfied with the work of the Government but we think its resignation is premature,” he said.
Experts believe a change of the Government does not mean a change for the better. For 25 years of independence, Kyrgyzstan has changed 26 Prime Ministers. The 27th, Sooronbai Jeenbekov, has not worked for a year as yet.
Frequent changes of Government entails, as a rule, stagnation in the development and in economic reforms, experts say.
‘Positive dynamics’
The main result of 2016 was that the country has overcome the deep recession of the national economy and achieved economic growth, Kyrgyz Economy Minister Arzybek Kojoshev said on January 30 at the Government meeting to discuss the country’s results for 2016.
“In the beginning of 2016 the economy showed a downward trend, which was replaced by positive dynamics in August,” Minister Kojoshev said. According to preliminary data of the National Statistical Committee of Kyrgyzstan, the country’s GDP grew 3.8% in 2016.
The share of small and medium business in GDP was 40.5%. More than 662 thousand people are currently engaged in entrepreneurial activity, 3.9% more compared to the previous year.
Remittances from Kyrgyz citizens abroad increased by 20.9% on-year in January-November 2016.
Farmers received soft loans worth 4.8 billion soms compared to 3.8 billion soms in 2015.
Shortcomings
Officials prefer to talk about positive results and briefly mention or remain silent about shortcomings (as provision of businesses with electricity).
The country is still dependent on imports of basic foodstuffs, such as flour, oil, sugar, and cereals. Trade with the EEU countries declined by 16.7% in 2016.
The Economy Minister mentioned decrease in foreign direct investment by 16.6%, which, in fact, is the most important negative result of the past year.
According to Minister Kojoshev, Kyrgyzstan’s economic problems were due to the unfavorable economic situation in Russia and Kazakhstan, the main trading partners of Kyrgyzstan.
Kojoshev said Kyrgyzstan’s economic growth is expected to be about 2.7% in 2017.
For comparison, GDP in neighboring Uzbekistan grew 7.8% last year and FDI amounted to $3.7 billion (11.3% more compared to 2015), President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev said. The Uzbek Government forecasts a 7.8% GDP growth in 2017.
Tourism
The tourist season was unsuccessful in 2016, Minister Kojoshev said.
About 110 thousand tourists visited Kyrgyzstan last year, which is 12% less than in 2015. The weather conditions affected the decrease in the number of tourists, the Minister explained.
The result would have been even worse had Kyrgyzstan not hosted the Second World Nomad Games, he added. According to official data, about 60 thousand tourists visited the Games held last September at Issyk-Kul Lake, which positively affected the outcome of the tourism season.
According to Deputy Prime Minister Cholpon Sultanbekova, the Government pays attention to tourism in the Issyk-Kul region alone, but there are other tourism destinations in the country including the unique Arslanbob nature reserve and resort in the Jalal-Abad province in the south of Kyrgyzstan. Its relic walnut forests are located on 700 thousand hectares at an altitude of over 1,600 meters above sea level.
Lake Sary-Chelek is among the most beautiful and picturesque alpine lakes in the world. Tash-Rabat, a unique architectural monument of the early Middle Ages, is among the most important archaeological sites in Kyrgyzstan. And Mount Sulaiman in Osh has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 2009.
