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.

Switzerland during the conference made a pledge for a total of € 2 million. 

“The inherited legacy of highly toxic and radioactive waste originating from uranium mining in the last century imposes an imminent threat to parts of the population and to the environment in the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

Such a contamination may have transboundary consequences and affect the health and living conditions of the population.

We welcome the efforts, which have been undertaken in recent years by the Kyrgyz, Tajik and Uzbek authorities in cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the European Commission, Russia, the EBRD and others in order to develop a Master Plan and carrying out feasibility and environmental impact assessments.

Handling this dangerous legacy is both a regional and a global responsibility.

The successful implementation of the projects depend on a number of crucial elements:

(1) the ownership and active involvement of local authorities and the population;

(2) the quality of the monitoring;

(3) and the careful cooperation and coordination with other actors on the ground, like for instance the actors involved in the Aral Sea Conference.

Switzerland will pay great attention to these elements.

Switzerland will be able to contribute with a total amount of € 2 million to the Environmental Remediation Account”.