First among the best
“The Russian-Kyrgyz Development Fund has literally become a pioneer among similar structures operating on the territory of our republic,” says Adylbek Kasymaliev, head of the government of the Kyrgyz Republic. At one time, several similar organizations were opened in the country together with other countries, including its closest neighbors – Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, as well as foreign countries. However, none of the bilateral funds was able to achieve similar results.
The reason, without exaggeration, for the unprecedented success is that the Russian side, by agreement with the Kyrgyz side, sought to create a structure that would work not only for the development of bilateral economic ties. First of all, such an organization was supposed to serve the modernization of the country’s economy. The fund was conceived as a tool for the republic’s integration into the emerging Eurasian Union. Which, of course, is impossible to imagine without the support of entire industries and direct real production in the republic.
“The Russian-Kyrgyz Development Fund successfully finances projects in a number of areas that are important to us,” emphasizes Adylbek Kasymaliev. – This is energy, including renewable energy, entire production clusters, trade logistics, and the agro-industrial complex. The fund has 3.5 thousand projects in all regions of the country that have received funding from the RKDF.
According to the head of the government of Kyrgyzstan, the fund’s plans for the near future also deserve special attention. Among the most important projects for the future, he notes the creation of a large trade and logistics hub and a Kyrgyz-Russian technology park.
Will switch to national currency
RKDF really has a lot of plans for the near future.
“We are doing a lot of work on import substitution,” notes board member of the fund Bakyt Kurmanbekov. – So, for example, we have already financed 15 projects for the production directly in Kyrgyzstan of the necessary building materials, which were previously imported in large volumes from abroad. The fund allocated $134.4 million for this purpose. With our support, the construction of a hydroelectric power station is underway. There are fourteen such power plants in total. The combined generation of these facilities will be 1.4 billion kilowatt-hours. After commissioning, they will be able to cover slightly less than half of the energy deficit in the domestic market.
The fund, according to Bakyt Kurmanbekov, will increase investment in projects important for the republic. The year before last, RKDF funding for the economy of Kyrgyzstan reached a record amount for such structures – $159 million. In 2024, the system investor allocated approximately the same amount to the real sector of the republic’s economy. As a result, in some industries the share of enterprises that received RKDF support either approached half of the output volume or has already exceeded it. This, for example, happened with the production of sugar. The share of the fund’s clients in this industry is estimated at 78 percent of the total volume of products produced.
By 2027, it is planned to increase the loan portfolio to $600 million and attract another $200 million in direct investment. At the same time, the issue of increasing financing in national currency is being considered in order to reduce the risks associated with the use of the dollar.
“In general, over the past ten years, we have financed projects worth $760.5 million,” says Bakyt Kurmanbekov. – This is 152 percent of our authorized capital. In 2023, the revenue of the fund’s clients amounted to 121.7 billion soms, which is comparable to 9.9 percent of the republic’s GDP, and tax contributions reached 7.5 billion – 4.1 percent of all taxes collected in the country.
Leopard jump
By 2030, the RKDF is preparing to invest up to two billion dollars in the economy of Kyrgyzstan. The fund will allocate half of this amount itself, the rest will be raised from external sources.
“Within five years, we intend to double the volume of our own investments,” explains Artem Novikov, Chairman of the Board of the RKDF. – During its existence, our fund has become the largest financial institution in Kyrgyzstan. We have provided support to hundreds of successful projects, which has significantly strengthened key sectors of the economy. Over the course of ten years, the Fund has become not just a financial instrument, but also a reliable partner in the implementation of priority development goals of Kyrgyzstan.
The fund’s big plans, as it turned out, are in tune with the new ambitious development strategy of the republic. The former head of the government of the Kyrgyz Republic, Akylbek Japarov, spoke about its development, taking advantage of the anniversary of the RKDF, which, in his own words, is to become one of the components of an economic miracle.
“We set ourselves the task of achieving a GDP level of $30 billion by 2030,” said Akylbek Japarov. – This strategy is officially called “Economic Miracle 2030”. But we also call it “Leopard Leap”. It will be the starting point for the transformation of our economy for the coming decades.
The former head of the government of the republic emphasized that in order to achieve this strategic goal, Kyrgyzstan plans to attract significant investments and carry out large-scale modernization of the economy. “RKDF will play an important role in this process,” he noted. “The Fund will focus on financing projects in priority sectors.”
Officially
Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Federation
The decision to establish the Russian-Kyrgyz Development Fund in 2014 was a serious step in deepening the strategic partnership and alliance of our countries. Over the past years, it has convincingly proven its relevance, confidently taken its place among the key financial and investment institutions of the republic, and has earned the respect of business circles and specialized international organizations.
Today the fund is one of the engines of economic growth and strengthening of the social sphere of Kyrgyzstan. It makes a significant contribution to the promotion of integration processes within the Eurasian Economic Union. It is important to continue working in this direction, to actively contribute to building the potential of Kyrgyz industry, agriculture, energy, tourism, and to help Russian investors more effectively build joint businesses with entrepreneurs of the republic.
Sadyr Zhaparov, President of the Kyrgyz Republic
The Russian-Kyrgyz Development Fund can be called a catalyst for the development of the country’s economy. But he also has a more important mission. The Foundation has become a symbol of our strong friendship and strategic partnership. The creation of the RKDF in 2014 was an important step towards strengthening relations between our republic and Russia.
By the way
One of the priority goals of the RKDF for the next few years is the introduction of innovation, the development of start-ups and venture financing aimed at accelerating economic growth. The Fund plans, together with the banking sector, to create platforms based on artificial intelligence and big data, which will automate the process of interaction with clients and speed up the implementation of business ideas.
“An investment of one dollar in the digital economy can bring the country’s GDP up to $20, and the fund intends to use this potential as efficiently as possible,” says Artem Novikov, Chairman of the Board of the RKDF. – Taking into account the economic efficiency of investments in high-tech industries, we will focus on the development of research and development work, annually allocating at least a percentage of profits to startups and venture financing.
Source: rg.ru
