Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan—Policy Innovation Facility (The Facility)

Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan face similar economic challenges in a fragile region. Both countries are seeking to develop policies to diversify their economies into higher value products, improve microeconomic stability and reduce their vulnerability to external shocks. The governments of both countries have set out high-level economic strategies that will require realistic policies, strategies, and plans to improve their economies, governance, resilience, and delivery capabilities.

The technical assistance facility provides flexible, short-term, demand-driven support for policy development and capacity building to the governments of Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. The Facility works with executive offices, ministries, state agencies, and local government (MDAs) to help formulate policies that contribute to the economic development and prosperity of both countries. The facility will provide opportunities for synergies with another DAI-implemented project, the Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan Enterprise Innovation Programme (EIP).

While technical assistance projects will help unlock better use of public, private and development partner finance for downstream implementation, the Facility will not support the implementation of policies, strategies, or programmes.

Sample Activities

• The Facility will deliver short-term technical assistance projects, including advice from local and international experts, training, coaching mentoring and/or new tools and guidance in response to requests from MDAs.
• A technical assistance project might include embedding an expert within a partner MDA to support the development of a policy and to provide mentoring.

Select Results

• Facilitated the signing of the Creative Park Law by the President of the Kyrgyz Republic in support of creative entrepreneurs. The project helped develop the law in 2021, with the Ministry of Economy and Commerce, Cabinet of Ministers, and Kyrgyz Association of Creative Industries. The newly adopted law will offer fiscal incentives and other measures of governmental support for Kyrgyz creative small firms (Creative Park residents). This will spur the national economy’s growth through establishing new creative companies representing various creative economy sectors such as fashion, architectural and interior design, visual, media and digital arts, music, performing arts, film and television, blogging, handicrafts, crafts, literature, and screenwriting—and promote the Kyrgyz creative brand around the globe.