The event has been organized jointly with the Ministry of Economy and Finance of the Kyrgyz Republic and the local authorities. The programme is co-financed by the governments of Switzerland and Germany and implemented by GIZ.

The Swiss government will contribute Euro 2.1 million. The additional Swiss funds will be allocated to continue the work in the Jalal-Abad region and to strengthen new value chains in Batken region.

The programme will support the local producers and entrepreneurs for better income prospects and use of green technologies. In Batken region successful business model that worked in Jalal-Abad region will be replicated.

Since 2015, Swiss contribution is totalling almost 7 million Euros. The programme already contributed to put in place profitable private technical advisory services that improved production and opened access to high value international for organic plums and early vegetables. In the Jalal Abad region only almost 1000 new jobs were created; nearly 600 agricultural producers have substantially increased their income; around 140 food processing small and medium enterprises increased their incomes by 40%.

In general the programme promotes green practices ensuring sustainable private sector development in Issyk-Kul, Osh, Jalal-Abad and Batken regions of Kyrgyzstan. 

Over 1 million dwellers of the Kyrgyz Republic capital Bishkek will benefit from upgraded wastewater infrastructure thanks to support from the EBRD, the government of Switzerland and the Global Environment Facility (GEF). An 11-kilometre long wastewater collector pipe, the construction of which was launched today, will connect households in the southern and western part of the city with the central sewerage network. It will enhance sanitation services, improve quality of life and secure long-term sustainability of this key municipal utility.

The inauguration ceremony was attended by Alain Pilloux, EBRD Vice President, Zsuzsanna Hargitai, EBRD Managing Director for Central Asia, Olivier Bangerter, Ambassador of Switzerland to the Kyrgyz Republic, Aibek Dzhunushaliev, Mayor of Bishkek City and Muradin Seidaliev, Director of the Bishkek Water company.

The construction of the wastewater collector pipe is the last component of a wider water and wastewater improvement effort to increase water supply, rehabilitate pipelines and renew the laboratory equipment for reliable water analysis in Bishkek. It is financed by an EBRD loan of €8 million to the Bishkek Water Company, supported by a €7.45 million grant from the Government of Switzerland and a US$ 1.5 million grant from the Global Environment Facility (GEF).