Newly appointed Head of DFID Central Asia to continue support of development work in Kyrgyzstan
Bob Leverington, the new Head of DFID Central Asia, based in British Embassy Dushanbe started work in the region in March 2013.
Bob is returning to Central Asia, where he was Head of DFID Tajikistan from 2009 to 2011. He brings a wide range of development experience from across the world, having previously managed DFID programmes in Pakistan, Malawi, South Africa, Thailand and Nigeria.
It will be Bob’s first visit to Kyrgyzstan. This time will be devoted to the meetings with project partners – UNICEF, USAID, IFC. Bob will be frequently travelling to Kyrgyzstan and its regions.
DFID has been active in Kyrgyz Republic since 1998. DFID Kyrgyzstan continues its operation from our newly established British Embassy in Bishkek, where the DFID/UKaid development section runs a varied programme.
The UK Development Assistance to the Kyrgyz Republic over the 2009 to 2015 programming period is some £27.4m ($41m) which is channelled through projects and budget support in Kyrgyzstan.
DFID’s priorities and key results for Kyrgyz Republic include:
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strengthening democracy, promoting equality and improving public financial management. We will identify $75m of cost savings in government budgets through our expertise.
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promoting an improved business climate, where by 2015 we will deliver$20m of cost savings and help attract $ 26m of investment for local businesses in both KyrgyzRepublic and Tajikistan.
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increasing accountability of and public trust in the Jogorku Kenesh. We will also work to help Parliament in the Kyrgyz Republic to be more accountable and trusted by 70% of citizens (from 26% baseline)
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promoting government policies which are more pro-poor and a reduction in inter-ethnic conflict
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supporting regional trade in goods and energy and supporting migration
In order to achieve this we have designed a number of programmes.
DFID is contributing £4m in funding over 2012 to 2015 to the “Deepening Democracy” project, working with USAID to improve service to the interests of poorer citizens of the Kyrgyz Republic through the role of the Parliament
DFID is contributing £5m over 2009 to 2015 to a multi-donor budget support initiative implemented by the Ministry of Finance to strengthen the effectiveness and accountability of Public Finance Management.
DFID is also giving £5m over 2012 to 2015 to support a project led by UNICEF to improve peace and stability and reduce ethnic tension in the conflict affected areas of Southern Kyrgyzstan.
In addition, DFID is funding regional programmes such as Central Asia Investment Climate Programme covering both Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan (£3m over 2013 to 2015) to reduce regulatory burden on businesses and assisting the Government with implementation of reform to enable more investment into both countries.