International relations

Environmental protection 

The Kyrgyz Republic focuses special attention on international cooperation aimed at efficient cooperation with foreign countries in implementation of multilateral and bilateral agreements in order to resolve transboundary problems in the sphere of environment protection and rational use of natural resources.

Kyrgyzstan joined the United Nations (UN) in 1992.  The Republic became a member of several international organizations in the field of environmental protection, such as:  the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations Education, Science and Culture Organization (UNESCO). Since 1991 the country is a member of the Commonwealth of Independent States; an Interstate Environmental Council was established. In 1993 Kyrgyzstan joined the World Trade Organization (WTO).

The Kyrgyz Republic permanently cooperates with the following international organizations:  the World Bank (WB), Asian Development Bank (ADB), the Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) , the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and others.

Since 1992, the Kyrgyz Republic is a member of the Economic Commission for Europe, one of the first among the Central Asian republics it has been selected for preparation of environmental performance review (EPR) in 2000, conducted by the UNECE experts.  Kyrgyzstan’s cooperation with the Global Environment Fund (GEF) is also expanding; since 2001 the country became a member of the Swiss electoral district GEF, which comprises all the Central Asian republics and Azerbaijan. Kyrgyzstan is a signatory to the Kyoto Protocol, which, is known as a complementary document to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (1992).

Being a member of 13 international environmental conventions and 3 protocols, Kyrgyzstan, on the one hand, is included in the global process of environmental protection activity, and on the other – has become a full member of the international community and has the right to receive technical and financial assistance from the developed countries; it is able to implement modern technologies in production, develop unconventional energy production. All the international environmental conventions signed and/or ratified by Kyrgyzstan, are global in nature and are of great international importance. Kyrgyzstan is taking steps to fulfil its obligations under these conventions.

Investment Protection 

Presently, the Kyrgyz Republic is a party to bilateral agreements on investment promotion and protection with more than 20 countries, including countries such as USA, Germany, Switzerland, Kazakhstan, Russia, China, India, South Korea and the United Kingdom. These documents provide foreign investors with the MFN treatment at the level of international legal relations and create a national-wide business environment. Also, these documents reinforce the investment protection standards for foreign investors and guarantee the fundamental rights and freedoms such as free transfer of income and payment, guarantees for payment of compensation in case of expropriation and other, as well as establish the principle of subrogation and incorporate the regulations governing the  disputes.

In the cases when the Kyrgyz Republic has no official agreement on  promotion and protection of investments with a certain country, the national legislation of the Kyrgyz Republic still provides a right for an investor from such a country  to apply not only to the local courts, but also to international arbitration in the event of a dispute. Such an action may be initiated by the investor, if it believes that its rights under the agreement on investment protection were violated by the Kyrgyz Republic. Such a right granted to the investor, i.e. the right to appeal directly to international arbitration, and not the courts of the Kyrgyz Republic, increase the chances of a foreign investor to obtain an independent and fair resolution of the dispute against the Kyrgyz Republic.

The Kyrgyz Republic is a party to the UN Convention of 1958 on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards, and has made a commitment to recognize foreign arbitration decisions and enforce them in the Kyrgyz Republic.