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The Kyrgyz Republic (Kyrgyzstan)

Kyrgyzstan is one of DFID's focus countries in the 2004-2007 Regional Assistance Programme for the Central Asia, South Caucasus and Moldova region(1 mb). DFID has been active in the Kyrgyz Republic since 1997. Our current annual spend on the development programme is about £7 million and is planned to increase up to £10 million by 2010.

Background

Image courtesy of Nicholas Van Praag/World Bank

Kyrgyzstan is a small landlocked mountainous country located in the heart of the Central Asia. It is one of the poorest countries in the region. However, the country has recently had several years of economic stability and growth. Since the Tulip Revolution of March 2005, the political situation remains unstable, affecting economic development and foreign direct investments.

Poverty levels are high but fell from 63% to 43% between 2000 and 2005 according to official figures. Although the overall poverty target may be met by 2015, Kyrgyzstan is unlikely to reach at least four of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) including:

• child mortality
• maternal mortality
• HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis (TB)
• incidence and provision of safe drinking water.

The Kyrgyz Government is finalising its Country development Strategy, which focuses on economic growth.

External debt has been high since 1999 despite two restructuring agreements with the Paris Club in 2002 and 2005. Kyrgyzstan didn't participate in the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative (HIPC), which would have written off a substantial part of its debt (equivalent to 67% of GDP as of end 2006). The government plans to develop and implement an anti-crisis economic strategy to handle the debt burden.

For more information about the political and economic situation in Kyrgyzstan please see The Foreign and Commonwealth (FCO) website.

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DFID in the Kyrgyz Republic

The DFID Office in the Kyrgyz Republic went live in April 1, 2007. We work closely with the FCO through the British Embassy in Astana, Kazakhstan, and respond to British Government priorities across the region.

We currently focus our assistance on:

• Governance;
• Financial management;
• Health and HIV/AIDS;
• Rural livelihoods; and
• Water and sanitation issues.

Promoting good governance cuts across all of our work. DFID supports a large regional HIV and AIDS programme from Bishkek, with an emphasis on harm reduction among vulnerable groups.

Kyrgyzstan is an OECD-DAC pilot country on Aid Effectiveness, and this is central to DFID’s work. We are developing a Joint Country Support Strategy with the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, the Swiss Government and the UN. This will support implementation of the Country Development Strategy. DFID fully applies aid effectiveness principles to our work, and encourages others to do so.

DFID engages in joint work with the World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF), The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and others organisations in assisting Kyrgyzstan to implement the Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (EITI). DFID will be working closely with civil society to ensure active and productive engagement in EITI, and attention to transparency issues.

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Other Donors

Kyrgyzstan receives support from The World Bank, The IMF, and The EBRD. The World Bank has provided substantial support in the form of structural adjustment loans.

The ADB has approved loans and grants averaging US$64.5 million since the Republic became a member in 1994, and is increasingly focusing on public (particularly social) services, agriculture (including rural finance), education and infrastructure.

The European Union has been working in governance, agriculture and infrastructure areas. It plans to include the social, Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) and investment sectors. The UK, through DFID, contributes a significant amount of the EU's aid resources overall, approximately 18%.

The Global Conflict Prevention Pool(1.2 mb) (GCPP), which was established in March 2001, funds high impact initiatives in Central Asia to support peace building and conflict prevention activities.

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Links

• Kyrgyzstan's Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP)
• Aid Harmonisation in Kyrgyzstan
• Donors in Kyrgyzstan
• United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Kyrgyzstan
• Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Kyrgyzstan
• The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) in Kyrgyzstan
•  UNDP MDGs Kyrgyzstan

 
Last updated: 19 April 2007

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