11 November 2022 / Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan – The Ministry of Economy and Commerce with its development partners UNDP, GIZ, OSCE, Accelerate Prosperity and private sector, organized the regional event “Green Economy Forum 2022: Green Economy Development in Central Asia” to offer a platform for all partners from Central Asia to discuss, find and apply green solutions in the region. The Forum brought together experts across sustainable business and governance for the day of the conferences, exhibitions, and high-level Business to Business (B2B) and Business to Government (B2G) dialogue sessions.

The Green Economy Forum discussed challenges for green transport, sustainable tourism, and finance development in Central Asia. Experts from Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Georgia, and Mongolia shared their experience and best practices with policymakers, development partners, civil society, and the private sector to explore the issues and showcase solutions related to green economy.

“The transition to sustainable green development is considered as one of the national priorities in the medium and long-term documents of the country. For the fourth year in a row, we have been implementing the Green Economy Development Program, the goal of which is to ensure inclusive and balanced green economic growth, ensure environmental safety, and actively use resource-saving and energy-efficient technologies.” – said Mr. Choro Seyitov, First Deputy Minister of Economy and Commerce of the Kyrgyz Republic.

An important role of an inclusive green economy has been highlighted as it improves human well-being and builds social equity while reducing environmental risks and scarcities. At this Forum, stakeholders discussed how Kyrgyzstan and other Central Asian countries can benefit from the global turn to green growth and implement a long-term strategy for sustainable green development to drive the country and the region forward.

The UNDP Resident Representative in the Kyrgyz Republic, Ms. Louise Chamberlain, stated: “Transforming the economy to become greener and more sustainable requires investment. As the public sector alone cannot meet the entire financial need, governments must put in place the right incentives for the private sector to engage. UNDP works with the Government and the Union of Banks to launch green finance initiatives that accelerate the implementation of green priorities.”

“Central Asia is one of the most vulnerable regions when it comes to the impact of climate change. The region should take a leadership role in creating a net-zero future. Actors, with the private sector in the lead, must collaborate across the region in building a circular economy, while enhancing food security with innovative aggrotech solutions across the developed and developing parts of the region. It is high time to strengthen governance and reform countries’ economic structure together with the private sector; mainstream green growth into national development plans and governance processes; account for the essential ecosystem services, ending open-access natural resource exploitation; and guide the sustainable growth of cities to ensure well-being and prosperity”, said Mr. Shameer Khanal, Head of Kyrgyz-German-Swiss Program GIZ “Green Economy and Sustainable Private Sector Development”.

“I have a wonderful life at the OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek because I am mostly surrounded by young, talented, and creative people. And although my young years are long gone, with my team I feel I am getting only younger. You have many more years ahead. And it depends on each one of us what these years will be about - full of weather-related instabilities, conflicts, and stress; or a new way of life, a life of joy, where we were able not only to mitigate the effects of climate change but also to adapt well to it by developing green communities and a green lifestyle. Because what we call "green" today will just be the new "normal" tomorrow," said Alexey Rogov, Ambassador/ Head of the OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek.

More than 500 representatives of different organizations, companies, and businesses took part in the Green Economy Forum.

***

UNDP partners with people at all levels of society to help build nations that can withstand crisis, and drive and sustain the kind of growth that improves the quality of life for everyone. On the ground in more than 170 countries and territories, we offer global perspective and local insight to help empower lives and build resilient nations. Under the Partnership for Action on Green Economy (PAGE), UNDP puts sustainability at the heart of economic policymaking. PAGE brings together the expertise of five UN agencies: UNEP, ILO, UNDP, UNIDO and UNITAR.

Together they support nations and regions in transforming economies into drivers of sustainability and social equity, by providing policy advice, assessments, capacity development and analytical tools outputs to 22 partner countries, including Kyrgyzstan. PAGE has been supporting the country in its commitment to advance inclusive sustainable growth, embedded into its long-term National Development Strategy 2040 since 2016. PAGE is also working with the government on sectoral reforms in green industry, sustainable agriculture and jobs and strengthening institutional capacities around inclusive green economy diagnostics, coordination, finance and public procurement.

GIZ has been active in Kyrgyzstan since the early 1990s. In line with the National Development Strategy of the country, GIZ implements projects in the priority areas of ‘Sustainable Economic Development’ and ‘Health’. GIZ activities also cover the education system, legal and judicial reforms, transboundary dialogue on water management in Central Asia, and the protection and sustainable use of natural resources.

The Kyrgyz-German-Swiss Programme ‘Green Economy and Sustainable Private Sector Development in the KR’, implemented by GIZ and funded by the Governments of Germany and Switzerland, supports the use of the principles of the "green" economy to ensure sustainable development in such sectors as the production of fruits, vegetables, and rice, livestock and tourism.

The OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek has been operational since May 2017, following the adoption of its current mandate. The mandate is based on efforts of the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic to modernize the tasks of the OSCE presence, which has existed since 1998. The OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek develops, implements, and reports on programmatic activities in all three dimensions of the OSCE, in close coordination with the host country, assisting Kyrgyzstan in fulfilling its OSCE commitments.