RESOLUTION OF THE CABINET OF MINISTERS OF THE KYRGYZ REPUBLIC

of December 8, 2025 No. 783

About approval of the Development program of the sector of critical minerals of the Kyrgyz Republic till 2030

For the purpose of development of the sector of critical minerals of the Kyrgyz Republic, ensuring strong and diversified rise of economy, increase in investment appeal of mining industry, creation of modern chains of value added and strengthening of resource safety of the country, according to articles 13, of the 17th constitutional Law of the Kyrgyz Republic "About the Cabinet of Ministers of the Kyrgyz Republic" the Cabinet of Ministers of the Kyrgyz Republic decides:

1. Approve:

1) the Development program of the sector of critical minerals of the Kyrgyz Republic till 2030 (further - the Program) according to appendix 1;

2) the Actions plan on program implementation of development of the sector of critical minerals of the Kyrgyz Republic till 2030 (further - the Actions plan) according to appendix 2;

3) format of assessment of resource cost on program implementation of development of the sector of critical minerals of the Kyrgyz Republic till 2030 according to appendix 3;

4) matrix of indicators of monitoring and assessment of program implementation of development of the sector of critical minerals of the Kyrgyz Republic till 2030 according to appendix 4.

2. The program is implemented within the approved number of staff of the ministries and departments participating in program implementation and within the means provided for the corresponding year and also at the expense of other means which are not prohibited by the legislation of the Kyrgyz Republic.

3. To the ministries and administrative departments of the Kyrgyz Republic:

1) to provide timely execution of the Actions plan and achievement of indicators of the Program with adoption of departmental actions plans;

2) following the results of half-year no later than the 15th following the accounting period to provide information on the course of implementation of the Actions plan in the Ministry of natural resources, ecology and technical supervision of the Kyrgyz Republic.

4. To provide to the ministry of natural resources, ecology and technical supervision of the Kyrgyz Republic following the results of every half-year no later than the 30th following the accounting period information on the course of implementation of the Actions plan in Administration of the President of the Kyrgyz Republic.

5. To impose control of execution of this resolution on management of control of execution of decisions of the President and the Presidential Administration Cabinet of Ministers of the Kyrgyz Republic.

6. This resolution becomes effective after ten days from the date of official publication.

Appendix 1

to the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Kyrgyz Republic of December 8, 2025 No. 783

The development program of the sector of critical minerals of the Kyrgyz Republic till 2030

Chapter 1. Introduction

1. The development program of the sector of critical minerals of the Kyrgyz Republic till 2030 (further - the Program) is the strategic document directed to forming of the competitive, steady and innovative mining industry capable to become one of key drivers of economic growth of the country. The program is developed within the National strategy of development for the Kyrgyz Republic till 2030 with preserving succession of the purposes and priorities determined by the state in the long term.

2. Need of its acceptance is caused by the growing role of critical minerals in world economy as they became basis for production of high-technology products - from renewable power and digital technologies before the defense and space industry. World tendencies are characterized by strong growth of demand for these resources, limited geography of their deliveries and high dependence on stability of supply chains. It creates both risks, and unique opportunities for the Kyrgyz Republic having the considerable potential of resource base.

3. The program implementation will allow to use this potential as steady source of economic growth, to stimulate development of refinery capacities, to attract national and foreign investments, to create high-productive workplaces and to develop the scientific and technical capacity of the country. In the conditions of global transition to "green" economy and digitalization the Kyrgyz Republic has opportunity to occupy niche of the reliable supplier of critical minerals, strengthening thereby the economic and technological importance in the global market.

4. The program consists of the following Chapters: "Introduction", "The general analysis of situation", "the Program Purposes", "The priority directions of development", "The expected results", "Favorable premises and risks", "Monitoring and assessment".

5. The program has complex character and covers all cycle of development of the sector - from geological exploration and production before deep conversion and integration into the international production chains. Provisions of the Program determine reference points of state policy in the field of critical minerals and shall form basis for development of industry and regional plans, and also for forming of the favorable investment climate in mining and industrial industries with receipt of finished goods.

Chapter 2. General analysis of situation

6. In the conditions of dynamic development of global economy and the accelerated implementation of advanced technologies critical minerals acquire strategic importance as basis for forming of high technology productions and "green" power. It is predicted that demand for critical minerals will grow twice by 2040 in connection with development of "green" technologies. At the same time critical minerals are key component for the whole range of the following industries:

1) renewable power - lithium, cobalt, nickel are used in production of accumulators of electric vehicles; rare-earth elements and copper - in wind generators; silver and tellurium - in solar panels;

2) electronics and digital technologies - tantalum, indium, rare-earth elements are necessary for production of smartphones and computers; gallium and germanium - for semiconductors;

3) aerospace and defense industry - titanium and nickel are part of high-strength alloys; rare-earth elements are applied in navigation, optical and defense systems.

Besides, world supply chains of critical minerals are subject to systemic risks owing to high concentration of production in limited number of the countries that creates threat of interruptions in supply and price instability. In response to these challenges many states create the national strategy of critical minerals, determining priority minerals taking into account own resource potential and requirements of the internal industry.

7. The Kyrgyz Republic, having considerable mineral and raw potential, followed way of forming of own strategic agenda in this sphere. Forming of the list of critical minerals of the Kyrgyz Republic was performed on the basis of the step-by-step and complex analysis. First of all the global priorities in the field of critical minerals created by the leading economies of the world including national lists of nine countries (Great Britain, the USA, the EU, Australia, China, Canada, Japan, South Korea, India), and also the list of International Energy Agency were studied. Further assessment of the actual availability of these minerals in subsoil of the country, their quality, concentration and scales of the inventories sufficient for industrial development was carried out. Special attention was paid to infrastructure conditions, such as access to transportation and energy networks, and also possibility of conversion within the country.

8. The final list according to appendix 1 to the Program was created proceeding from set of these factors and reflects the minerals having at the same time high global demand, the significant confirmed resources in the Kyrgyz Republic and perspectives for cost-efficient involvement in development.

9. The most part of fields of critical minerals in the Kyrgyz Republic was reconnoitered during the Soviet period. From the moment of independence finding amounts of the state investments into GRR were reduced on average to 500 thousand US dollars a year that multiply there are less than the level of comparable countries of the region.

10. For years of independence as a result of the state GRR 12 ore occurences, mainly gold, and also several objects on non-ferrous and rare metals (antimony, tin, beryllium, copper) were revealed. At the same time for the last decade gold objects remained the main direction of works: in 7 of 10 inspected sites gold searches whereas non-ferrous and rare metals generally were considered as accompanying were conducted, and only on certain sites researches on nickel, cobalt and other rare elements were undertaken. Activity of private sector in conducting exploration works remained low and for the last decades they did not provide significant surplus of explored reserves.

11. Account of mineral resources in the Kyrgyz Republic is kept on system of the State commission on inventories oriented to volume indicators and economic feasibility of development. Along with it, considerable part of inventories is formally considered as resources that limits their investment appeal in the world market. Additional assessment of inventories and resources according to the international standard CRIRSCO with involvement of competent persons would allow to increase quality of data and investor confidence.

12. According to estimates the list of critical minerals of the Kyrgyz Republic includes 22 minerals with perspective amounts and content in ore. By number of criteria 4 priority projects, 5 most perspective fields and 16 prospective areas are selected, however most of them remain in category of previously estimated resources and require additional investments in GRR.

13. Are necessary for disclosure of complete potential of critical minerals:

1) large-scale investments into modern exploration works and assessment of inventories according to international standards;

2) digitalization of geological data (now only about 30% of materials of State geofund are transferred to electronic format);

3) implementation of the international reporting and preparation of competent persons.

Complex realization of these measures will allow to increase the number of the fields ready to industrial development and to create conditions for attraction of long-term private equity to the sector of critical minerals.

14. Normative legal regulation of the sector of subsurface use of the Kyrgyz Republic in general covers complete cycle of works - from searches and geological exploration before production, however its structure is fragmented and in a number of aspects does not correspond to the best international practicians. The base of regulation is constituted by more than 10 key laws and bylaws. Regulation of ecological and social aspects of mining activities has partial character and is characterized by weak law-enforcement practice.

15. The mineral right is granted according to the decision of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Kyrgyz Republic through competitive and auction procedures, and also by the rule of "the first submitted application", at the same time license areas for conducting search and exploration works in the majority are determined by the state. Procedures of receipt of licenses require interaction with the relevant state bodies and registrations of considerable amount of technical documentation that influences terms - from the beginning of geological and search works before commissioning of the facility can take place up to 12 years. Now licensing is performed generally in paper format that increases administrative costs and limits opportunities for involvement of foreign investors.

16. In some cases for subsoil plots of nation-wide value one of key criteria by provision of the license is the size of the share of the state in the project given by the subsoil user on a grant basis. In particular, the existing legal acts provide obligatory participation of the state in large and average projects on gold mining and silver in the amount of at least 30% of share in the authorized capital. The essential role of the state in the capital of projects allows to provide participation in distribution of results of mining. At the same time it is important to find balance which will stimulate attraction of private investments. The additional factor influencing the investment climate is the appreciation of country risk of the Kyrgyz Republic the international rating agencies (S&P) in comparison with other countries of the region.

17. The taxation system in the field of subsurface use provides the wide list of the obligatory payments including more than 10 types of tax and non-tax payments, including royalty, bonuses, charges for deduction of the license, taxes on the income, and also assignments on development of infrastructure. The size of tax burden is created taking into account type of mineral, form of products and market prices of raw materials. Mechanisms of tax support, including guarantees of stability of tax regime, accelerated depreciation and transfer of losses for future periods are effective, at the same time their application is connected with need of passing of the established procedures of approval. For forming of the favorable investment climate the important direction is increase in predictability of tax policy, including exception of sharp changes of rates of separate payments.

18. In the ecological and social plane mandatory requirements on EIA, land reclamation and realization of benefits packages in regions of presence are effective, however calculations and mechanisms of execution are often formal that limits their real effect. Strengthening of investor confidence and increase in transparency requires transition to the unified and digital system of regulation harmonized with international standards (CRIRSCO, ICMM) and also optimization of tax regime for the purpose of stimulation of geological exploration and deep conversion of raw materials.

19. Development of the sector of critical minerals in the Kyrgyz Republic significantly depends on availability and quality of the conditions providing effective development of mineral resource base and building-up of the processing capacities. Among them are key:

1) the developed infrastructure providing access to fields, reliable power supply and water supply, and also transportation of products to the foreign markets;

2) availability of the qualified manpower capable to provide all cycle of works from geological exploration before conversion;

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