Japan invests in Kyrgyzstan $1 billion
By Vusala Abbasova
Japan will invest roughly 130 billion yen (over $1 billion) in promising sectors of Kyrgyzstan, under a number of documents on grant aid for the development of small and medium-sized businesses signed during a recent visit of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to Kyrgyzstan.
This aid will include $16 million for the renovation of Manas International Airport in the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek, while $1.5 million will be dircetd to support the agricultural sector, and a $117 million loan to revamp the Osh-Batken-Isfana highway in the south.
Among the perspective sectors for investment, Abe highlighted promising areas such as Kyrgyzstan’s abundant water recourses and its traditional livestock and the dairy and agriculture sectors.
Two memorandums were signed on cooperation between the Japanese IHI Star corporation and Kyrgyz Aiyl Bank and MOU with the Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation of the Kyrgyz Republic were approved.
These memorandums have significant importance in the development of cooperation between the countries in the supply of agricultural equipment. It will significantly help renovate and modernize the agriculture sector in Kyrgyzstan.
Thus, in 2016, Japanese IHI Star will allocate a grant to Kyrgyz Aiyl Bank in the amount of $1.5 million within the memorandums.
Furthermore, Abe and Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev affirmed in a meeting in Bishkek that Japan will assist Kyrgyzstan in the preparation of the presidential election in 2017.
Following the meeting, Atambayev welcomed Japan’s new initiative for developing human resources in Kyrgyzstan for advanced industries using Japanese-style engineering education.
Both sides expressed their readiness for joint cooperation in anti-drug and border control measures as part of efforts to ensure the stabilization of Afghanistan.
They agreed to push for reform from the U.N. Security Council. Atambayev expressed support for Japan’s bid to become a permanent member of the Security Council.
This meeting plays a historic role in the bilateral cooperation between the two countries, as Abe became the first Japanese prime minister to visit Kyrgyzstan. He is on a weeklong trip to Mongolia and five Central Asian states through Wednesday.
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