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.

The discussion was based on a draft "Plan of measures for optimization of the system of municipal services provided at the local level for 2018-2023". The elaboration of this plan was supported by the "Public Service Improvement" project, which is financed by the Government of Switzerland through the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and implemented by the Helvetas Swiss Intercooperation and the Development Policy Institute.

In recent years various efforts have been made to optimize the system of public service provision in terms of legislative and regulatory improvements, however the area of municipal service provision has been lagging behind.  The implementation of the Law of the Kyrgyz Republic "On State and Municipal Services" has revealed some issues making it necessary to revise the existing system of service provision at the local level. As it turns out, local self-governments are actually responsible for delivering different types of services that are not reflected in the existing legal framework.

“The elaboration of the Plan and its further implementation are an important step toward improving the quality and accessibility of services provided to people at the local level” – said Danielle Meuwly Monteleone, Deputy head of the Embassy of Switzerland in the Kyrgyz Republic.

After receiving feedback from various stakeholders, the Plan will be submitted to the Interagency Commission under the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic for optimization of the system of state and municipal service provision for further actions for its implementation.