Scope for textiles in Kyrgyzstan

Kyrgyzstan could create more jobs and reduce youth migration by attracting more investment into its agriculture, textiles, and tourism sectors, but investors will be looking for more stability, says UNCTAD’s investment policy review of the country.

Once part of the Soviet Union, the small, landlocked, and largely mountainous country sped through market reforms after 1991. But investors’ confidence in the economy was challenged following political unrest in 2005 and 2010 and a more difficult investment climate.

Kyrgyzstan — which shares borders with China, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan — has strong potential for agribusiness, textiles and tourism, the report says. Its comparative advantages include the low costs of labour and electricity, mild weather, good pasture, pristine mountain landscapes, and access to large markets in the Russian Federation and Kazakhstan.