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Kyrgyzstan Security Politics Corruption Government Power succession

As Kyrgyzstan marks April Revolution Day, President Jeenbekov fires his predecessor’s loyalists

BISHKEK (TCA) — On April 7, Kyrgyzstan marked the eighth anniversary of the April People's Revolution. It was the second revolution in the history of independent Kyrgyzstan, which took place in April 2010. The first one was on March 24, 2005. During the clashes between protesters and security forces on 7 April 2010, 87 people were killed and hundreds were injured. This date has been officially celebrated since 2016. Democratic changes “On April 7, 2010, a historic turn was made to the bright future from the path leading the country to a dead end. We once again demonstrated to the whole world that the people of Kyrgyzstan highly appreciates the ideals of justice, will never kneel down and will not tolerate family-clan rule,” Kyrgyz President Sooronbai Jeenbekov said in his address. Earlier this week, Jeenbekov invited ex-presidents Roza Otunbayeva and Almazbek Atambayev to take part in commemorative events dedicated to the April Revolution anniversary. Atambayev accepted the invitation, but did not take part in official events due to “poor health”, said the secretariat of the ruling Social Democratic Party of Kyrgyzstan (SDPK) headed by Atambayev. Otunbayeva attended the ceremony. Another opinion Those who came to power on the wake of the April 7 events call them historically important, but there are people who hold a different opinion. It is not yet clear what exactly that day brought in terms of history and politics, they say. According to former Parliament Deputy Speaker, Asiya Sasykbaeva, supporters of the Ata Meken opposition party do not consider this date a holiday. It should not be celebrated because young guys were killed, but there are no results of the goals and tasks set, she told the 24.kg news agency. The situation of human rights and freedom of speech has worsened in the country. The judicial system has not been reformed, and the authorities have not been able to depoliticize the law enforcement system, Sasykbaeva said. Changes in Government On April 7, President Jeenbekov accepted the resignation of Abdil Segizbayev from the post of Chairman of the State Committee for National Security (SCNS). On the same day, Segizbayev’s Deputy, Bolot Suyumbayev, was also dismissed. Suyumbayev is known as former bodyguard of ex-President Atambayev. About Segizbayev Segizbayev, a close ally of ex-President Atambayev, was appointed SCNS Chairman in November 2015. In October 2017, he was awarded the Major-General rank. He graduated from the Agricultural Institute as an agronomist. He began his career at the Soros Foundation-Kyrgyzstan as a coordinator of the programs "Support to Mass Media" and "Support for Democracy". Segizbayev was President Askar Akayev’s spokesman. After the revolution in March 2005 and Akayev’s ouster, Segizbayev left politics and worked in public organizations and international programs, where he headed PR and HR departments. In 2011, after Atambayev was elected President of Kyrgyzstan, Segizbayev was appointed his adviser. A year later he headed the department of information policy at the Presidential Office. In 2014, Segizbayev was appointed the first Deputy Chairman and a year later — the Chairman...

8 years ago

Kyrgyzstan Investments Kumtor Mining Gold

Kyrgyzstan: Centerra to invest $25 million to extend Kumtor gold mine’s life

BISHKEK (TCA) — Canadian Centerra Gold Inc intends to invest about $25 million in further geological exploration to extend the life of the Kumtor gold mine in Kyrgyzstan, Chief Executive Officer of Centerra Gold Inc., Scott Perry, said during his meeting with Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan Sapar Isakov on April 4. Continue reading

8 years ago

Government Kyrgyzstan Parliament Politics Corruption Power succession

Kyrgyzstan: ex-President Atambayev makes comeback to politics

BISHKEK (TCA) — Ex-President of Kyrgyzstan Almazbek Atambayev has reinstated his leadership of the Social Democratic Party of Kyrgyzstan (SDPK) after delegates of the 17th SDPK congress held on March 31 elected Atambayev the party chairman. Continue reading

8 years ago

Kyrgyzstan Economy Parliament Corruption Government

Frequent changes of Government are not good for Kyrgyzstan

BISHKEK (TCA) — In Kyrgyzstan, the Parliament, media and the public are increasingly discussing the possible resignation of the Government of Prime Minister Sapar Isakov. Attempts to change the cabinet are usually strengthened in the spring, political analysts say. Continue reading

8 years ago

Belt and Road Initiative Infrastructure Economy China Transport Energy Investments Kyrgyzstan

Situation around two projects will not affect Kyrgyzstan-China relations

BISHKEK (TCA) — Kyrgyzstan has no choice but to pay off its debts to China. According to the Kyrgyz Ministry of Finance, the country owes $1.7 billion to the Export-Import Bank of China, which is 41.3% of Kyrgyzstan’s foreign debt. China provides preferential loans to Kyrgyzstan, which brought much benefit to the country’s socio-economic development, Chinese Ambassador to Kyrgyzstan Xiao Qinghua said recently at a roundtable in Bishkek. There is a scheme for repaying the debt, and everything should be done according to agreements. “This is an international standard practice," the Ambassador added. Situation around TBEA and Huawei Commissions to investigate the accident at the Bishkek thermal power plant (TPP) continue to work in Kyrgyzstan. Despite an expensive modernization, as the result of the accident occurred at the TPP on January 26, most of the capital city residents remained without heating when the air temperature outside was minus 20 degrees Celsius and below, including hospitals and schools. Local media and experts attacked the Chinese company TBEA (Tebian Electric Apparatus), which modernized the TPP. On July 16, 2013, a contract to implement the Modernization of the Bishkek TPP project worth $386 million was signed between Kyrgyzstan’s Electric Stations JSC and TBEA. The modernization began in 2015 and was completed in August 2017. Under the loan agreement between the Kyrgyz Government and the Export-Import Bank of China, the Kyrgyz Finance Ministry was granted a $386 million soft loan at a 2% interest rate per annum and a maturity of 20 years. The loan was issued without collateral, under the guarantee of the Kyrgyz Government. TBEA is a well-known energy company and has a good reputation all over the world, the Chinese Ambassador said. The company is implementing projects in many countries, and its work has always been highly appreciated in Western countries, he added. In Bishkek, the company has done a good job, and the current investigation is an internal affair of Kyrgyzstan. “We do not interfere in the internal affairs of any state,” the Ambassador said. Another topic to discuss was the news that the Kyrgyz government has withdrawn from the Smart City project agreement to be implemented by the Chinese company Huawei. Commenting on the situation, the Ambassador stressed that Huawei is a very strong company with even a higher reputation than that of TBEA. Smart City is a commercial project, and if one of the parties does not like something, then it has the right to withdraw from it. In international practice, this often happens, he explained. Smart City is a good idea, and it is of great importance for the sustainable development of Kyrgyzstan. This know-how project will be successfully implemented regardless of who becomes its investor, Ambassador Xiao Qinghua believes. This situation will not affect the relations between China and Kyrgyzstan. Xiao said China highly values good-neighborly relations with Kyrgyzstan and is committed to strengthening relations in all areas of cooperation. “We are ready to develop bilateral cooperation in all areas of the economy, particularly in the...

8 years ago

Remittances Eurasian Economic Union Labor Employment Migration Kyrgyzstan

Work permits to foreigners simplified in Kyrgyzstan

BISHKEK (TCA) — Kyrgyzstan has simplified the conditions for obtaining work permits for foreign citizens. Earlier, six documents were required to obtain such permits, while only two documents are needed now, Medetbek Aydaraliev, Chairman of the State Migration Service of Kyrgyzstan, said at a press conference in Bishkek. In addition, the period for considering applications for work permits for foreigners has been reduced from one month to ten working days. As a result, bureaucratic barriers companies have often complained about have been reduced. The State Migration Service (SMS) has also begun accepting documents electronically, thus fulfilling the Government's Taza Koom (Clean Society) program. This work has been intensified after Kyrgyzstan’s Prime Minister Sapar Isakov criticized the SMS for delaying the process of issuing work permits. The Government received many complaints from foreign citizens, including investors, entrepreneurs, employees, and university teachers. The process of issuing permits was opaque, slow and uncomfortable, they said. "We attract investors and good teachers to universities but state bodies do not allow them to develop due to the process of issuing permits," Isakov said. "The Government should create the most convenient process for applying for a work permit. Our legislation should be attractive for investors, so that large enterprises, businesses could open,” the Prime Minister said. He ordered to simplify the procedure for issuing work permits for investors in a week's time, as well as to shorten the list of documents and consider the possibility of extending the work permit for foreigners to three years if they have an appropriate confirmation of the duration of the contract or long-term investment plans. Isakov also ordered to develop clear criteria for a motivated refusal to issue a work permit. Russian FMS blacklist shortened The SMS Chairman Aidaraliev also told the press conference that every year, the number of Kyrgyz citizens on the blacklist of the Federal Migration Service of Russia is declining. The FMS blacklist is a list of foreigners who violated the current migration legislation of Russia and were banned from entering the Russian Federation. As of January 1, 2018, about 77 thousand Kyrgyz citizens were blacklisted, while there were 110 thousand on January 1, 2017, and 180 thousand in 2015. According to official data, 640 thousand Kyrgyz citizens are now working in Russia, which is 88% of the total number of Kyrgyz migrants. The State Migration Service of Kyrgyzstan proposed not to blacklist those Kyrgyz citizens who violated the rules once, and to blacklist them after three violations. Negotiations on this issue will continue in the near future in Moscow within the framework of the Eurasian Economic Union. EEU benefits Supporters of Kyrgyzstan's accession to the EEU say that Kyrgyzstan’s main benefit from the accession was the facilitation of the working conditions of migrants in comparison with those from Uzbekistan and Tajikistan (countries that are not EEU members). The migration statistics show that due to the economic crisis in Russia and the tightening of migration laws, the number of migrants from Uzbekistan and Tajikistan declined by...

8 years ago

Kazakhstan Uzbekistan Central Asia Tajikistan Turkmenistan Kyrgyzstan

Central Asia countries rebuilding regional integration

BISHKEK (TCA) — On March 15, a consultative meeting of Central Asian leaders was held in Astana. Presidents of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, and the Speaker of Turkmenistan’s Parliament participated. Continue reading

8 years ago

Economy Kyrgyzstan Housing Poverty

Can state benefit payments reduce poverty in Kyrgyzstan?

BISHKEK (TCA) — According to the Ministry of Labor and Social Development of Kyrgyzstan, 360.2 thousand people from low-income families receive monthly state benefit payments, and most of those families have children (275.9 thousand). The number of applicants for state benefits grows by 2% a year. In 2018, the State will allocate 5.330 billion soms from its budget for this purpose, which is 1.8 billion soms more than in 2017. The criteria for determining the family’s poverty are being revised now. "Ownership of a car or a tractor, a land plot that generates income, as well as a livestock is now taken into account," Labor and Social Development Minister Taalaykul Isakunova said on March 2 at a Parliament’s meeting to discuss the implementation of legislation on state benefits. Meanwhile, the minister is not sure that these benefits are effective and help people get out of poverty. “No studies have been conducted on this issue. As for me, I believe this does not help," the minister said. In Kyrgyzstan, 271,000 families live below the subsistence minimum, which is 4,900 soms ($72) per person per month, MP Ruslan Kazakbaev said. According to him, 120 thousand families spend less than $1 a day. "In rural areas, one-day expenditures of one family do not reach even one dollar,” he said. The implementation of the law "On State Benefit Payments" adopted in 2017 has many shortcomings, Kazakbaev added. "About 7-8 billion soms is necessary to implement the law but there are no sources of financing," he said. "According to the International Labor Organization, about 580,000 children work in Kyrgyzstan, and 13% of children receive state benefits, while 27% do not receive this support from the state," the MP said. He stressed the importance of increasing benefits to families in real need, and families with children with disabilities. Poverty still high According to World Bank experts, poverty is decreasing in Kyrgyzstan. Nevertheless, about 1.6 million of the country’s six million population lives below the poverty line defined at 31,151 soms per capita per year. The extreme poverty is still high, 0.8% of the population. Eight out of ten people living below the poverty line live in rural areas. Households that are large with young children have a much higher probability of living below the poverty line. Agriculture and services are still the main sectors of the economy in terms of employment. A third of the population and about 36% of those among the poorest persons works in the agricultural sector. Labor incomes per capita have increased, which together with the increased remittances allowed raising welfare and reducing poverty. Yet these remittances were mostly used to increase private consumption and the construction of housing rather than investment in the economy. Significant territorial differences affected the poverty reduction, which fell significantly in Bishkek and Jalal-Abad cities due to significant economic growth and a more active trade development. According to the WB forecast, poverty reduction is expected this year. A modest increase in agricultural and construction growth forecasts and...

8 years ago

Kyrgyzstan Investments Economy Trade United Kingdom

Kyrgyzstan and UK building stronger trade and investment ties

BISHKEK (TCA) — On March 1, the second UK Trade Mission is finishing its visit to Kyrgyzstan, having conducted a series of business meetings in the country. On February 28, there were B2G meetings in the Government Office, the Ministry of Culture, Information and Tourism, the Ministry of Education and Science, the State Committee for Industry, Energy and Subsoil Use, and other state agencies. On February 27, B2B meetings took place. Kyrgyzstan becomes a good partner "The reforms that are carried out in Kyrgyzstan allow us to open our country to investors from the new side. We are becoming a good partner," Kyrgyzstan’s Economy Minister Artem Novikov said at the presentation of the UK Trade Mission on February 27. "Our business people can see which contracts could be concluded to improve trade relations with the UK," the minister said and told the guests about the country's investment potential. Kyrgyzstan has great potential for economic growth. For the past six years, the country has managed to double its GDP in nominal terms, Novikov said. In 2017, the total trade increased by 12.5%, with exports growing faster than imports. Trade with the UK has increased fivefold in 2017 compared to 2016, with a significant share of gold and precious metals. The minister expressed the hope that trade between the two countries will also develop in other sectors. The arrival of the UK Trade Mission is of great importance for Kyrgyzstan. In the future, such meetings should be held more than once a year but quarterly or once in six months, and they should be more extended to cover all areas, the minister said. Kyrgyzstan is implementing the Taza Koom (Clean Society) digital transformation program which will reduce corruption and provide business opportunities for development in electronic commerce and other industries. "We have introduced stabilization regimes for investors and adopted a law that opens up opportunities for tax benefits for industrial enterprises. There is a law on public-private partnership and fiscal mechanisms for electronic procedures are being introduced. According to international ratings, our country ranks first in protecting investors among the CIS countries," Novikov added. The minister drew attention to the tourist potential of Kyrgyzstan. "Forbes magazine included Kyrgyzstan in the top ten list of recommended Best Budget Travel Destinations,” he said. Previously, Business Insider included the country in the top 12 emerging travel destinations. Kyrgyzstan was also among the top ten countries tipped for a tourism boom by WTTC. The minister urged British companies to invest in the Kyrgyz processing industry, energy sector, tourism, and light industry. Opportunities for cooperation According to UK Ambassador to Kyrgyzstan Robin Ord-Smith, the trade between the two countries amounted to $5.1 million for 10 months of 2017, and direct investments for 9 months were $27.6 million. The UK wants to achieve an increase in trade between the two countries. There are many opportunities for cooperation between our states in education, the Taza Koom program, providing legal and business services, the Ambassador said. Last year a UK...

8 years ago

Kyrgyzstan Healthcare Pharmaceuticals Corruption

Kyrgyzstan: healthcare minister under fire for anti-corruption efforts

BISHKEK (TCA) — Kyrgyzstan’s Healthcare Minister Talantbek Batyraliev has come under criticism, especially from Parliament members. Continue reading

8 years ago

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