The Consular Section provides American citizen services for Americans living in the Kyrgyz Republic.  Those services include passport renewals and the issuance of consular reports of birth abroad, among other services.  The section also issues non-immigrant visas to travelers to the United States.  For more information on our consular services, please visit the consular pages on our web site.

The  Defense Attache’s Office works with its colleagues in the Ministry of Defense of the Kyrgyz Republic to build closer cooperation on issues of regional security and defense modernization and training.

The Export Control and Related Border Security (EXBS) program is a U.S. Department of State initiative that works in collaboration with the Kyrgyz Republic to improve the host country’s export control systems.  The goal of the EXBS program is to assist the Kyrgyz Government to increase their efforts to inspect, interdict, investigate and prosecute the illegal procurement and movement of weapons of mass destruction (WMD), WMD-related commodities, and advanced conventional weapons.  EXBS assistance is provided to border security agencies, law enforcement personnel, prosecutors, and import/export licensing officials throughout the Kyrgyz Republic.

Since 2000, EXBS has delivered over 24 million dollars in training and equipment in support of the Kyrgyz Republic’s efforts in border security, non-proliferation, and the establishment of strategic trade controls that meet international standards.

INL enhances the capability of Kyrgyz legal and law-enforcement officials to combat crime and ensure public safety in a professional, non-corrupt manner.  Fosters the rule of law within the Kyrgyz criminal justice system, supports an independent judiciary, helps to establish a just and effective legal system that upholds fundamental rights, including the rights of victims. The INL section also works on strengthening counternarcotic efforts and Improving the investigation and prosecution of crime in a manner consistent with international standards, including those in the area of forensics. Program Components/Accomplishments:

• Law Enforcement: A Senior Law Enforcement Advisor (SLEA) assists Kyrgyz police to professionalize operations and training and set up systems that impede corruption and improve services to the citizenry.   Refurbishment of the Secondary Police School in Bishkek is one result.  INL has also helped upgrade the Interior Ministry’s forensics laboratory, and provides forensics support to the Justice Ministry as well.
• Counternarcotics:  INL supports Kyrgyzstan’s drug-enforcement service in its efforts to combat drugs flowing northward from Afghanistan.
• Justice Sector Reform:  INL funds a Resident Legal Advisor (RLA) from the U.S. Department of Justice to assist the government with justice-sector reform, including anti-corruption efforts.  Another project supports the creation of a unified bar and the further development of an Advocates’ Training Center, in both instances to empower defense lawyers.

The Management Section handles all contractual, technological, transportation, and construction aspects of Embassy business.

The section handles all financial and human resource aspects of Embassy business.  Please click here to learn about U.S. Embassy job opportunities.

The Office of Military Cooperation works with the Kyrgyz Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Emergency Situations and Border Guard Service to coordinate and implement Defense Department security cooperation programs to reinforce interoperability for multinational peacekeeping operations and to increase effectiveness of regional counternarcotics and counterterrorism efforts.  For more information on United States Central Command and its programs, see website at http://www.centcom.mil/.

The Political and Economic Section of the U.S. Embassy interacts closely with the governmental, financial, business, and non-governmental sectors of Kyrgyzstani society to communicate American policy to leaders of the Kyrgyz Republic and to report accurately the views of all segments of Kyrgyzstani society to American policy makers.

Public Diplomacy Section answers media inquires, publicizes the activities of the U.S. Mission, issues press releases and organizes press conferences.  It arranges for interviews of the embassy officials and organizes press events for U.S. officials visiting Kyrgyz Republic on issues of bilateral interest and concern.

Public Diplomacy Section distributes publications to the media on U.S. Government policy, democracy, economics, human rights, U.S. legislation and other issues of current interest.

PD also helps to provide training and educational materials to journalists in an effort to explain the importance of a free press and journalism as it is practiced in the United States.

Contact us:

The Regional Security Office protects the security of the Embassy and official Americans abroad.

USAID is working to increase the quality of democratic governance, the inclusiveness of society and service delivery, and economic opportunities in the Kyrgyz Republic.

In partnership with national and local governments, civil society and the private sector, USAID assistance is helping to strengthen the only parliamentary system in the region, improve communication between the government and citizens, foster greater economic prosperity, improve the quality of health care and education, and incorporate participation of marginalized communities in both the political process and private sector development. USAID programs support the National Sustainable Development Strategy of the Kyrgyz Republic.

USAID is capitalizing on the Kyrgyz Republic’s democratic developments by providing expert advice and training to the country’s new parliament with the goal of making the parliament an effective, democratic institution. USAID is helping to build civil society organizations that enhance the public’s ability to provide input to national institutions and demand results from their government. Recognizing that 50 percent of the population is under the age of 25, USAID is also focusing on building the life skills, entrepreneurial abilities and civic commitment of the country’s young people.

USAID stimulates diversified and sustainable economic growth across the country through support to 54 competitively selected partner municipalities, which receive assistance to improve the capacity of local governments to provide citizen services and promote economic growth at the local level. To reduce the impact of rising food prices and low agricultural productivity, USAID encourages public-private partnerships and introduces modern technologies to expand food yields, resulting in increased incomes.

USAID works closely with the Kyrgyz Republic’s Ministry of Education, local counterparts, and other donors to expand and improve access to quality basic and higher education. USAID supports the Kyrgyz Republic’s Education Development Strategy for 2012-2020 by working with 7,500 teachers, who teach 60 percent of the Kyrgyz Republic’s primary grade student population, to improve primary school students’ reading levels in the country.

USAID’s programs in the health sector work to improve the government’s ability to prevent and treat infectious diseases such as HIV and tuberculosis. USAID is helping to model new methods of controlling these two epidemics that increase access to care – particularly for those groups that are most at risk – and increase the success rates of treatment.

Useful Links

• Our Mission, Approach and Core Values (PDF 48 KB)
• USAID in the Kyrgyz Republic (PDF 294 KB)
• USAID Newsletter: Issue #1, January 2015
• USAID in the Kyrgyz Republic
• USAID on Facebook

The first group of Peace Corps volunteers arrived in the Kyrgyz Republic in June, 1993.  On August 26, 2016, Deputy Chief of Mission Alan Meltzer presided over the swearing-in of the 24th group of US Peace Corps Volunteers at the in the Kyrgyz National Philharmonic.

From 2016 to 2018 the 24th group of Volunteers will work with local English teachers in Kyrgyz Universities and secondary schools in Naryn, Issky-Kul, Chui, Talas, Osh and Jalalabad oblasts as part of a joint collaboration between the US Peace Corps and the Ministry of Education and Science. In addition, Volunteers work in their respective communities hosting English clubs and team-teaching supporting the development of improved methodologies.  These 24 Volunteers are 21 to 46 years old and come from 19 different American states.

In 2017 the Peace Corps will celebrate its 25th anniversary of the arrival of the first group of Volunteers to serve in the Kyrgyz Republic.  More than 1,100 American Peace Corps Volunteers have served in the Kyrgyz Republic.  On September 9-10, 2016 in Washington, DC, more than one hundred Returned Volunteers joined with the Kyrgyz Ambassador in Washington, Kadyr Toktugulov, celebrating the 25^th Anniversary of the Kyrgyz Republic’s Independence at both George Washington University and at The Kennedy Center for the Grand Reunion of Volunteers who served in the Kyrgyz Republic.

About the Peace Corps: Since President John F. Kennedy established the Peace Corps by executive order on March 1, 1961, more than 200,000 Americans have served in 140 host countries. Today, more than 7,000 volunteers are working with local communities in 75 host countries. Peace Corps service is a 27-month commitment and the agency’s mission is to promote world peace and friendship and a better understanding between Americans and people of other countries. Visit www.peacecorps.gov for more information.

The Peace Corps Volunteers are here at the invitation of the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic based on an agreement that was signed in 1992. With the swearing-in of the K-24th group, there are 74 Volunteers serving in the Kyrgyz Republic. Click here for more information about the Peace Corps in the Kyrgyz Republic, or follow on Facebook.

USEFUL LINKS
Peace Corps Kyrgyzstan Page
Peace Corps on Facebook
Peace Corps on Youtube
Peace Corps on Instagram
Peace Corps Home Page

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) partnership with the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic started in 1995 and aims to strengthen the government’s capacity to detect, prevent, and control disease and respond to public health threats in Central Asia.

HIV/AIDS:  In 2010, CDC began implementing HIV/AIDS activities through the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) to strengthen HIV prevention, care, and treatment programs and health system capacities.  This includes implementation of evidence-based demonstration programs to identify cost-effective modes of service delivery and expanding prevention and treatment services for key populations.

Partnership with the Ministry of Health’s Republican AIDS Center (RAC) and Republican Psychiatry and Narcology Center remains critical for achieving epidemic control in the Kyrgyz Republic.  CDC supports the Ministry of Health in the following areas:  providing technical assistance for antiretroviral therapy services at 22 RAC-supported sites that provide care and treatment services to nearly 3,410 people living with HIV; HIV prevention, including medication-assisted treatment of opioid addiction; HIV counseling and testing; laboratory strengthening; and strategic information systems.

To find out more about activities that combat HIV and Tuberculosis, please visit the CDC website.

Global Health Protection Initiatives:  Programs like PEPFAR have helped establish a foundational capacity for the Kyrgyz Republic’s public health system and workforce to prevent, detect, and respond to health threats.  Other CDC flagship initiatives, such as the Field Epidemiology Training Program, strengthen the nation’s public health workforce capacity by training public health professionals with the skills to collect disease data, detect outbreaks, and mobilize to respond to outbreaks.

For example, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, CDC supported the Kyrgyz Republic by leveraging existing public health systems to deliver COVID-19 vaccinations, strengthening systems for laboratory detection of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, and providing guidance on reducing the spread of disease in the country and across borders.

The CDC remains committed to supporting the Ministry of Health in the Kyrgyz Republic and other partners to achieve its public health goals.