The chairman of Kyrgyzstan’s Cabinet of Ministers, Akylbek Japarov, has spoken about the country’s economic results for the first half of this year.
At a government meeting on July 17 Japarov said that Kyrgyzstan needs to make a further big step forward in its economic development. The phrase Japarov used was “leopard’s leap”, referencing the fact that the snow leopard was recently announced as Kyrgyzstan’s official symbol.
Japarov announced that Kyrgyzstan’s GDP growth rate in 2023 was 7%, rising to 8.1% in the first half of 2024.
He added: “We need to triple our efforts to put the economy on a sustainable development course and achieve the goals set by the Head of State to have a GDP of $30 billion by 2030 and $200 billion by 2050.”
Japarov opined that the government should launch a new program to support domestic entrepreneurs purchasing new technological equipment, and also support small and medium-sized enterprises to expand production and open new jobs. These measures would be in addition to the lowering of the interest rate of the National Bank (which has lowered the interest on bank loans for business) and decreasing Social Fund payments by employers from 12.5% to 2%.
Japarov ordered the Ministry of Economy and Commerce to pay more attention to the development of commodity exchanges, and develop an export development program that will propose initiatives for import substitution and promote domestic products.
He also emphasized the importance of the ministry’s work in improving the position of Kyrgyzstan in Moody’s and Fitch’s ratings.
Regarding credit ratings, Japarov said: “The Moody’s rating agency has revised the credit rating of the Kyrgyz Republic from negative to stable. This indicates that the state is strengthening itself as a reliable partner, capable of promptly and fully fulfilling its financial obligations. However, we must not stop there. I ask you to work carefully in this direction. First, this is a question of the country’s reputation in the eyes of international financial institutions and investors. We must constantly improve our position.”
