Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk took part in the plenary session of the 8th Russia-Kyrgyzstan Economic Forum and the 12th Russia-Kyrgyzstan Inter-Regional Conference, held on August 5–7 in the Issyk-Kul Region of the Kyrgyz Republic.
Excerpts from the transcript:
Alexei Overchuk: Prime Minister Kasymaliev, distinguished forum participants, friends.
I would like to start by thanking the organisers for the invitation to take part in today’s plenary session of the 8th Russia-Kyrgyzstan Economic Forum and the 12th Russia-Kyrgyzstan Inter-Regional Conference.
Events such as this economic forum and our inter-regional conference are of particular importance to the business dialogue between our two countries. These sought-after platforms have become a traditional meeting place for friends and like-minded partners, offering a space for open discussion and the cultivation of direct working relationships between the regions of Russia and Kyrgyzstan.
The Kyrgyz Republic is our strategic partner and a true ally in Central Asia. Our relations are built on the foundation of a long shared history, mutual respect, equality, and trust.
This accumulated experience helps us set the right priorities, focusing on the objectives set by the Presidents of Russia and Kyrgyzstan – namely, to boost investment and trade, facilitate technology transfer, support small business development, and strengthen the labour market.
The Kyrgyz Republic is an important participant in the integration processes within the EAEU, the CIS, and the SCO.
I would particularly like to highlight the successes of the Kyrgyz economy, achieved in no small part through its participation in the Eurasian Economic Union.
Between 2021 and 2025, Kyrgyzstan’s GDP grew by 55.3 percent – a leading figure within the EAEU. Industrial output increased by 45.5 percent, fixed capital investment doubled, and mutual trade with EAEU countries rose by 2.4 times, reaching $5.9 billion.
The republic’s involvement in the Union’s integration processes provides a solid bedrock for expanding trade and economic ties, expanding industrial cooperation, and launching new joint projects within the EAEU framework.
In this connection, I would like to draw the attention of regional leaders and the business community to the financial support measures for industrial cooperation projects currently on offer from the Eurasian Economic Commission. I believe Kyrgyz businesses could be more active in taking advantage of these opportunities. Moreover, similar support measures will soon become available to representatives of the agricultural sector. Such mechanisms genuinely strengthen the integration ties between our countries, and it is in our shared interest to make full use of them.
Russia accounts for 27.1 percent of Kyrgyzstan’s total foreign trade.
Bilateral trade continues to grow steadily. During the first five months of 2026, trade between our countries increased by more than a quarter – a rise of 25.5 percent – to $2.3 billion.
More than 2,000 companies with Russian capital operate in the Kyrgyz Republic.
We can see significant potential for expanding cooperation across the entire range of our partnership, from the digital economy and transport and logistics to industrial cooperation and the agro-industrial sector.
Construction of Central Asia’s largest solar power plant is nearing completion here, in the Issyk-Kul Region of the Kyrgyz Republic. It is expected to be commissioned in the near future.
At the same time, a Russian investor is constructing a wind farm here. Russian investment is making a tangible contribution to strengthening Kyrgyzstan’s energy sector.
The Russian-Kyrgyzstan Development Fund, as one of the key institutions supporting bilateral economic cooperation, also plays an important role in financing joint projects and promoting investment. It has supported around 4,000 projects across all regions of the republic so far.
The Russia-Kyrgyzstan Business Dialogue, held as part of the St Petersburg International Economic Forum, holds a special place in the calendar of our bilateral relations. This year, it was held for the fourth time. I would also like to note that this year the Kyrgyz Republic presented a national pavilion at the forum for the first time, providing an excellent opportunity to showcase the country’s investment, industrial, tourism, and cultural potential.
The Russian language remains one of the key factors that helps strengthen ties between our countries. Russian serves as a common language of communication for the peoples of Northern Eurasia, and knowing Russian opens up additional opportunities in education, professional development, and everyday life. This is why Russia continues to support efforts to improve the quality of Russian-language education. During the 2025/26 academic year, 170 teachers worked in Kyrgyzstan under the Russian Teacher Abroad programme. Last year, we developed and delivered 610,000 locally adapted Russian-language textbooks, and this year we plan to supply another 671,000 copies.
More than 10,000 students from the Kyrgyz Republic are currently studying in Russia.
We are implementing a major project to build nine jointly operated schools in the Kyrgyz Republic. We expect the first three schools to welcome their first students on 1 September 2027. Work is proceeding according to schedule.
The necessary domestic procedures have now been completed for the ratification of the intergovernmental agreement governing the construction of a new campus for the Boris Yeltsin Kyrgyz-Russian Slavic University in the Kyrgyz Republic.
I would like to express our gratitude to President of the Kyrgyz Republic Sadyr Japarov for supporting this project and allocating 30 hectares of land in one of Bishkek’s most prestigious districts. Russia intends to build the finest university in Central Asia there.
Today, most Russian regions maintain trade and economic ties with Kyrgyzstan. The most active among them are the federal cities of Moscow and St Petersburg, the Nizhny Novgorod, Orenburg, Moscow, Chelyabinsk, and Sverdlovsk regions, as well as the Republic of Tatarstan.
Currently, 27 agreements on international and foreign economic cooperation have been concluded between 18 constituent entities of the Russian Federation and six regions of the Kyrgyz Republic. These agreements cover trade, economic, scientific, technical, social, and humanitarian cooperation.
It is at the regional level that cooperation delivers its most tangible benefits for our people. This is where practical projects are implemented and where direct business-to-business ties continue to develop.
Of course, Russia remains fully committed to strengthening interregional and other cooperation with the Kyrgyz Republic. We will continue to deepen our cooperation, expand regional ties, and create favourable conditions for improving the wellbeing of the peoples of both Russia and Kyrgyzstan.
I wish you all productive work.
Thank you for your attention.
