Kyrgyzstan’s president dismisses prime minister

BISHKEK: Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov has dismissed the prime minister, Akylbek Japarov, the presidential administration said in a statement on Monday.

Japarov has been “dismissed from his post due to a transfer to another position,” the statement on the presidential website said. Japarov had been prime minister since 2021. The president assigned the prime ministerial duties to First Deputy Prime Minister Adylbek Kasymaliyev, the presidential administration said in another statement. Kyrgyzstan, a mountainous country in Central Asia and a former Soviet Republic, has gone through significant political and social instability since its independence in 1991.

Its economy depends heavily on remittances from millions of migrant labourers working in Russia, which make up a fifth of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), according to United Nations data.

The leadership change comes as Kyrgyzstan, a mountainous nation in Central Asia and a former Soviet republic, continues to grapple with political and economic challenges. Since gaining independence in 1991, the country has experienced waves of political instability, including uprisings and changes in government.

The Kyrgyz economy relies heavily on remittances from migrant laborers, primarily in Russia. These remittances constitute about 20 percent of the country’s gross domestic product, according to United Nations data. Further details regarding the prime minister’s new role or the reasons behind the reshuffle have not been disclosed.