The one-day seminar will focus on sharing reports and studies on ongoing Public-Private Partnership projects as well as providing participants with recommendations concerning what type of approaches the Kyrgyz Government could consider when introducing PPPs in different sectors of the economy.

The seminar consists of two parts, the first of which will involve presentations delivered by Mr. Enrico Grassi, Principal Auditor of the European Court of Auditors, and by Mrs. Simrit Kaur, Professor at the University of Delhi. Keynotes will also be heard from the Development Partners and representatives of the ministries of the Kyrgyz Republic.

Presentations will then be followed by a relevant panel discussion with representatives of the Kyrgyz government, civil society, private sector, expert groups, research institutions and development partners. The panel will discuss how to avoid pitfalls and ensure a successful approach to Public-Private Partnership that will yield positive results for the whole of Kyrgyzstan. After the presentations and panel discussion, a Q&A session will follow.

As stated in the most recent Development Program of the Kyrgyz Republic «Unity, Trust, Creation», between 2018-2022, the Kyrgyz Government is committed to developing Public-Private Partnerships with the intention of increasing domestic supply of services and bridging gaps in infrastructure. Such partnerships have been considered a viable option for providing goods and services, which are conventionally supplied by the public sector.

One hundred new places for children between 2.5 and 6 years are created. This has been achieved with the support of the local municipality and the project “Strengthening Voice and Accountability" funded by the Government of Switzerland through the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and implemented by the Development Policy Institute.

The Swiss-funded project allocated 1 million soms and the local municipality contributed 100 thousand soms to renovate and equip the kindergarten with furniture, kitchen equipment, blankets, office equipment and music instruments. This is the result of a local community initiative, which was selected under the Small Grants Program of the project.

The municipality of Aleksandrovka cooperates with this project to adopt a participatory budgetary process, which allows for better alignment of the budget on the needs of the population and greater accountability of the municipality towards the population. Indeed, residents of the municipality are involved in local decision-making and in monitoring budget execution.

The head of the community monitoring group Raziya Livaza said: “It is as if a dream came true! Now we are confident that all issues can be solved through our active participation and through the joint efforts of the residents and the municipality. Our voices are heard when local budget expenditures are discussed. The local administration and local council members respond to our needs and solve our priorities.”

“As a representative of the Swiss Government, I am pleased to hear that the inhabitants of the municipality could enter in a constructive dialogue with the municipality to decide on their priorities and select this project. Participation of citizens in decision making is essential for effective, efficient and accountable governance. Furthermore, the project has enabled the village to open its first kindergarten!” - said Véronique Hulmann, Ambassador of Switzerland to the Kyrgyz Republic.