Agencies

Japan International Cooperation Agency Kyrgyz Republic Office

Information about JICA activities in the Kyrgyz Republic 

In order to define a medium-term cooperation strategy, JICA undertook analytical work, as a result of which “Support for continuous, balanced economic growth that drives the institutionalization of democracy" was identified as the main policy for a five-year period starting from April 2020. The following priority areas were defined: I) "Diversification of Industry and Job Creation" with the following programs 1) Promotion of agriculture exports, 2) Promotion of Industry and SMEs, 3) Infrastructure Development for Industry Diversification; II) Improvement of Governance and Social Services, with the following programs 1) Program to improve capacity in policy development and implementation through human resource development, 2) Program to Improve Social Services.

These, as well as other areas of cooperation in the early stages, are reflected in the following JICA programs in the Kyrgyz Republic:

Reception of trainees 

From 1993 to the present, 2505 citizens (mostly civil servants) of the Kyrgyz Republic have been trained in Japan in various specialties: agriculture, tourism, finance, management, law, healthcare, taxation, ecology, water and energy resources, infrastructure, regional development, etc. In September 2009, the JICA Alumni Association was founded.

Dispatch of Volunteers

Japanese Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (volunteers aged 20 to 69) work in the following regions of the Kyrgyz Republic: Chui, Issyk-Kul, Naryn, Talas, and Bishkek, in various specialties: teaching Japanese, music, physical education, computer technology, English, mathematics, physiotherapy and occupational therapy, community development, etc. From 2000 to 2022, 289 Japanese volunteers carried out their activities in the Kyrgyz Republic.

Technical cooperation projects

The "Kyrgyz-Japanese Center for Human Resource Development" (Kyrgyz-Japanese Center) project started in April 2003. Such a project is implemented in Asian countries with a transitional market economy like Vietnam, Laos, Mongolia, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, etc. Functions of such centers include the development of human resources to support the transition to a market economy through business courses, IT courses, and Japanese language training; - implementation of activities for the mutual understanding of cultures through cultural exchange, which is the main point of international exchange and technical cooperation between the two countries.

In 2022, a new phase of the project began, which involves promoting the diversification of economic sectors in the Kyrgyz Republic and strengthening relations between the Kyrgyz and Japanese entities such as private companies and academic institutes.

Since 2004, in order to train highly qualified specialists in information technology, the implementation of the technical cooperation project “Training in the field of IT technologies in the Kyrgyz Republic (National Center for Information Technologies)” has begun; it is aimed at both developing personnel and the IT industry itself in the Kyrgyz Republic.

Also since 2007, in cooperation with the Issyk-Kul Oblast State Administration, the “Community Activation Project” (J-CEP) has been implemented using the “One Village – One Product” approach aimed at developing the potential of village residents. From 2017, the project has been disseminating the Issyk-Kul model to other regions of the country. GoKR acknowledged the achievements of the project and declared that OVOP will become a National Project in 2022. The new phase “Project for Promoting Small and Medium Business through Strengthening of Production, logistics, and Sales by Applying OVOP Approach” has commenced in April 2023 and the OVOP approach is going to be disseminated in not only the Kyrgyz Republic but also in neighboring countries.  

In 2007, “Project for the inclusion of persons with disabilities in society” were launched.

Several technical cooperation projects have been implemented in the road sector over the past decade: “Project for the Capacity Building of Road Maintenance in the Kyrgyz Republic” (2008-2011), “Project for Capacity Development for Maintenance Management of Bridges and Tunnels” (2013-2016), “Capacity Development for Road Disaster Prevention Management” (2008-2015), disasters on highways” (2016-2019). Besides, “The Study on Improvement of Urban Transportation in Bishkek City” (2011-2013) was implemented to develop a masterplan.

JICA also implements projects in the field of agriculture. In the period from 2009 to 2022, the following Technical cooperation projects were implemented: "Project for Support for The Dissemination of Biogas Technologies" (2007-2011); "Support for Joint Forest Management in the Kyrgyz Republic" (2009-2013); "Project for Development of the Rural Business with Forest Products in the Kyrgyz Republic" (2015-2019); "The spread of organic farming" (2013 - 2015); " Project for Promotion of Exportable Vegetable Seed Production" (2013-2020); "Dissemination of organic farming and increasing the value added of agricultural products in the Kyrgyz Republic" (2016-2020).

“Project for Master Plan on Inspection of Quality and Safety on Milk and Dairy Products” (2015-2017) was implemented to identify critical factors to improve the dairy sector in the Kyrgyz Republic. Based on the study result, the “Project for Market Oriented Milk Production in Chuy Province” (2017-2022) was implemented, and the “Project on Improvement of Human Resources in Food Laboratories for Improvement of Quality of Milk and Dairy Products” (2019-2023) is ongoing.

In 2022, JICA started two new TCPs in new sectors: “Project for reinforcement of the pilot referral systems on detection and treatment of non-communicable diseases at early stages” in the health sector and “Master Plan Project for Regional Development and Tourism Promotion through the Utilization of World Heritage Sites in Chui Region” in the tourism sector.

Dispatch of experts

For the development of industry in the Kyrgyz Republic, a long-term expert (more than 1 year) was dispatched to the Ministry of Economy of the Kyrgyz Republic to develop industrial policy. Also, short-term experts (less than 1 year) were dispatched on barcoding, development of the textile industry, and the food processing industry. In order to assist in the reform of human resource management in the public administration system, experts from the National Personnel Service of Japan were invited to conduct trainings in the civil service. In February 2010, an expert in the field of information and communication technology development was invited to transfer Japanese technologies and experience.

From 2008 to 2020, 4 experts were successively sent to the Ministry of Transport and Roads of the Kyrgyz Republic in order to support institutional development in the road industry. Besides, experts were sent for “Planning of Road Disaster Prevention” (2013-2014) and “Roller Compacted Concrete Pavement (RCCP)” (2019-2021).

In the agricultural sector, an Advisor on attracting investments in agriculture (2014-2015) and another Advisor in the field of logistics of agricultural products (2015-2015, 2017-2019) was sent to the Ministry of Agriculture.

In addition, an Investment Promotion Advisor (2015-2017) was dispatched.

In total, about 775 Japanese experts were sent from Japan to the Kyrgyz Republic.

Technical Cooperation for Development Planning

Development Planning - Assistance in the preparation of development master plans that are essential for improving the situation in a developing country. In the Kyrgyz Republic, two studies have been conducted in the early-mid 2000s, “Study of the General Scheme for the Development of the Issyk-Kul Zone in the Kyrgyz Republic” (2003-2006) and “Study of Effective Management in Agriculture and Processing Industry in the Kyrgyz Republic” (2004-2007). As part of the first study, a plan was drawn up for the development of the Issyk-Kul region through the promotion of the tourism sector and other related industries, taking into account compliance with environmental protection measures and the opinion of the local communities. Also, the OVOP concept was introduced to the Kyrgyz Republic based on the masterplan of this project. As part of the second study, an action plan to improve the situation in the field of agriculture by improving the marketing and processing industry was created and submitted to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Industry, and Land Reclamation of the Kyrgyz Republic.

Besides, “The Study on Improvement of Urban Transportation in Bishkek City” (2011-2013) was implemented to develop a masterplan.

In 2014-2015 there was a study in the dairy sector "Project to improve the quality and safety of milk and dairy products."

In 2022, the “Master Plan Project for Regional Development and Tourism Promotion through the Utilization of World Heritage Sites in Chui Region” commenced in the tourism sector.

(*as Technical Cooperation for Development Planning projects are highly related to Technical Cooperation projects, some projects are included in both parts of this document)

Grant aid projects

In order to help improve medical care in the Kyrgyz Republic, the Government of Japan provided medical equipment under the following projects: Improving the equipment of the Republican Children's Clinical Hospital medical equipment (1996); Modernization of the ambulance system in Bishkek (1998); Improvement of medical equipment for obstetric institutions of the Kyrgyz Republic (2002); Improving Pediatric Care in Rural Areas of the Kyrgyz Republic (2004); Joint project with UNICEF to provide equipment for combating infectious diseases in the Kyrgyz Republic (2011). In 2023, a Grant Agreement (G/A) was signed for“Project for Improving of Medical Equipment in Bishkek City and Chui Oblast”, which aims to strengthen the system of diagnostics and treatment capacity by providing medical equipment to regional-level healthcare organizations.

In 2005, a grant was awarded for a project to improve equipment for the production of programs for the National Television and Radio Broadcasting Corporation of the Kyrgyz Republic.

Also in 2007, the "Japanese Training Scholarship Project (JDS) Grant Assistance Program" was launched to undertake master's degree programs at leading universities in Japan. PhD degree program was added in 2017. By 2023, 287 students have been dispatched to study in Japan.

Grant Aid projects to increase food production (2KR) were implemented from 1996 to 2004.

Several infrastructure projects under Grant assistance were implemented; in particular, three projects to provide road maintenance equipment to six regions, except Batken, of the republic (in total, about 550 units of equipment were delivered from 2007 to 2015), and a project to equip road maintenance stations (2018). In 2023, G/A of“Project for the Improvement of Equipment for Road Maintenance and Pavement in Batken” was signed to provide road maintenance equipment to the Batken region.

Also, within the framework of grant agreements, four bridges were reconstructed and one bridge is under reconstruction: bridges over the riverAlamedin and river Ala-Archa on the highway Almaty-Bishkek-Tashkent and in the Ken-Bulun village on the Bishkek-Naryn-Torugart highway (2008), as well as a bridge at the entrance to the city of Jalal-Abad on the Bishkek-Osh highway (2012). The bridge across the river Urmaral in the Talas region (2018) is under reconstruction now.

Under the project to equip the Manas International Airport (2014), air navigation equipment and airport ground special equipment were provided.

Currently, the "Project for Avalanche Protection of the Bishkek-Osh highway" is being implemented. The construction of a tunnel at the 246th kilometer of the mentioned route has begun. This area, called Kochku-Bulak, is characterized by a large amount of snow accumulation and avalanches. Besides, the “Project for the Protection from Ground Blizzard on Bishkek-Osh Road” is under preparation.

In 2012-2013 a grant aid project was implemented to improve sports equipment for judo (tatami) for the State Agency for the Development of Physical Culture and Sports under the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic.

Yen Loan Project

Three Program Type Yen Loan projects were provided to support the international balance of payment of GoKR from 1993 to 1999. Loan Agreement (L/A) “Bishkek-Manas International Airport Modernization Project” was signed in 1996 and the project updated passenger facilities, aviation assistance facilities, and lighting equipment to improve airport safety.  “Bishkek-Osh Road Rehabilitation Project” I (1997) and II (1997) were implemented to rehabilitate 166km of BO road.

Currently, a loan project "International Main Roads Improvement Project " is being implemented. The project consists of 2 components: 1) reconstruction of sections of the Osh-Batken-Isfana highway from km 28 to 75, and 2) construction of a tunnel to protect against natural disasters on the Bishkek-Osh highway.

Statistics on JICA projects for 2022

Gran Aid: 27.8 bln JPY ~ (196.9 mln USD)

Technical Cooperation: 22.7 bln JPY ~ (160.8 mln USD)

Yen Loan: 37.6 bln JPY ~ (266.4 mln USD)

Trainees: 2 680 people

JOCV: 289 people

Statistics for 2022 (amount shown in US dollars is approximate and may vary depending on the exchange rate of the Japanese yen against the US dollar): US dollar amounts are based on the official JICA exchange rate as of August 2023:  1 USD = 141.154