Published: 03 November 2014 г.
Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic, 1 November 2014 – His Highness the Aga Khan is arrived in Bishkek for a four-day visit to the Kyrgyz Republic.
The Aga Khan is the founder and chairman of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), a group of agencies working in economic, social and cultural development. AKDN has been engaged in the Kyrgyz Republic since 2000 operating the Aga Khan School in Osh, the Aga Khan Music Initiative, the First Microcredit Company, the Kyrgyz Investment and Credit Bank (KICB), Jubilee Insurance Kygyzstan and the Aga Khan Foundation working in Osh and Naryn in the fields of rural development, early childhood development, health, education and disaster reduction.
His Highness the Aga Khan is also the Chancellor of the University of Central Asia (UCA), which was founded by him and the Presidents of the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan and Kazakhstan. During this visit, His Highness will travel to Naryn, where he will review progress on the construction of UCA’s main campus and brief provincial and local leaders on developments, including the opening of the Naryn campus which will admit its first undergraduate students in September 2016.
He will also review developments of AKDN’s activities with the country’s senior leadership including His Excellency Almazbek Atambayev, President of the Kyrgyz Republic, Speaker of Parliament Asylbek Jeenbekov, Prime Minister Joomart Otorbayev, Minister for Foreign Affairs Erlan Abdyldaev and Minister of Education Kanat Sadykov.
For more information contact:
Aga Khan Development Network Representation
for the Kyrgyz Republic
80, Tynystanov Street
720053 Bishkek
Kyrgyz Republic
Tel: +996 312 696031
Notes:
His Highness the Aga Khan is the 49th hereditary Imam (Spiritual Leader) of the Shia Ismaili Muslims and is the founder and chairman of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN). In Islam’s ethical tradition, religious leaders not only interpret the faith but also have a responsibility to help improve the quality of life in their community and in the societies amongst which they live. For His Highness the Aga Khan, this has meant a deep engagement with development for over 50 years through the agencies of the AKDN.
The Aga Khan Development Network is a group of private, non-denominational development agencies working to empower communities and individuals to improve living conditions and opportunities, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, Central and South Asia, and the Middle East. The Network’s ten development agencies focus on social, cultural and economic development for all citizens, regardless of gender, origin or religion. The Network engagement has ranged from early childhood development to university and adult education, from micro-credit to banking and financial services, from supporting tradition-bearers in music and oral recitation to building capacity of civil society institutions, from tourism to infrastructure development. Its annual budget for social development is US$600 million. In Kyrgyzstan, close to 1,420 people most of who are local citizens are directly employed by AKDN and its various agencies.