Naryn, 28 June 2018 – In support of the objectives outlined by President Sooronbai Jeenbekov in the Declaration of 2018 as the Year of the Development of the Regions, the Naryn Town Municipality and Aga Khan Development Network agreed to cooperate on the master plan for the development of Naryn town. This was formally announced during the VI International Naryn Investment Forum organised earlier today by the Naryn Oblast Administration. Following the pronouncement, the Naryn Municipality and the Aga Khan Trust for Culture, an AKDN agency, formally exchanged copies of a Memorandum of Cooperation.
An initiative of the Naryn Municipality, this exercise aims to promote the social and economic development of the town through a concerted, planned approach to ultimately improve the quality of life of its inhabitants and visitors. Specifically, the planning process will help identify opportunities for economic growth, improved infrastructure, and support Government-led efforts to transform Naryn into an economic, touristic, cultural, and intellectual hub.
Mr. Emilbek Alymkulov, Mayor of Naryn noted “We appreciate the positive response from the AKDN to our request for this important undertaking. This collaboration will provide our town an opportunity to unlock its full potential to ultimately benefit the residents and guests. We look forward to this latest element of our long-standing cooperation with the AKDN, in particular the technical support from AKTC.”
The Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC) brings with it decades of experience working with municipalities to promote planning, conservation and urban revitalisation in ways that can spur social, economic and cultural development. In 2016, AKTC supported the rehabilitation of the Naryn Central Park ("Smart Park") in part to demonstrate the value and benefits of enhancing public space. The project was successfully completed and handed over to the Municipality.
“We are pleased to collaborate with the Naryn authorities on this important innovative project as it will provide benefit and learning to Naryn town and to Municipalities throughout the country. It builds on the considerable existing initiatives supported by the AKDN in Naryn, in the fields of health, rural development, financial services, and education, most notably the University of Central Asia,” underlined Dr. Shamsh Kassim-Lakha, Diplomatic Representative of the Aga Khan Development Network in the Kyrgyz Republic.
Notes:
Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), which was founded by His Highness the Aga Khan, is a private, international, non-denominational development organisation. It employs over 80,000 people in over 30 countries. Its agencies address complex development issues, including the provision of quality healthcare and education services, cultural and economic revitalisation, micro-enterprise, entrepreneurship and economic development, the advancement of civil society and the protection of the environment. The AKDN aims to improve living conditions and opportunities for people without regard to their particular religion, race, ethnicity, or gender. For more information on AKDN, please visit: www.akdn.org.
Aga Khan Trust for Culture focuses on the physical, social, cultural and economic revitalisation of communities in the developing world. It is composed of several individual programs and units: the Aga Khan Historic Cities Programme, which promotes the conservation and re-use of buildings and public spaces in ways that spur socio-economic development; the Aga Khan Award for Architecture, which awards a prize for architecture every three years; the Aga Khan Music Initiative, which supports talented musicians and music educators who strive to preserve, transmit, and further develop their musical heritage in contemporary forms