On 20 June 2023, in the framework of the EU-funded Central Asia Invest programme, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) organised a workshop to assess progress in strengthening the legal environment for business in the Kyrgyz Republic. This follows a study that the Organisation conducted in 2019-2020 on Improving the Legal Environment for Business and Investment in Central Asia. The event was held in co-operation with the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic and the European Union.
Some 30 participants took part, including representatives of different ministries and national agencies, the Business Ombudsman Institute, and representatives of the international donor community and NGOs.
The seminar allowed the OECD team to share initial thoughts on progress made in Kyrgyzstan since 2020 and to address participants’ questions and comments about the OECD’s preliminary findings along three policy dimensions: the operational environment for businesses, taxation, and contract enforcement. Mr Stefano Corrado, Programme Manager at the EU Delegation to the Kyrgyz Republic, recalled that the EU has been co-ordinating and funding private sector development and competitiveness among private operators in the Kyrgyz Republic and the wider region under the Central Asia Invest programme. Ms Usenbekova, Deputy Minister of Economy and Commerce, and Mr Umtulov, Deputy Chairman of the State Tax Service, highlighted the latest government initiatives to support private sector development, including the adoption of a simplified taxation system in April 2023, while Mr Nurlan Musuraliev, Deputy Business Ombudsman, called for more predictability and stability in fiscal rules.
Participants were encouraged to share their inputs on the OECD’s preliminary findings ahead of the publication of the final report in December 2023, at the OECD’s regular ministerial event for the region, OECD Eurasia Week, in Paris, France.