Kyrgyzstan Signs Off on Major Education Deal with Islamic Development Bank

The Kyrgyz president has officially signed a law ratifying agreements with the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) for the implementation of the Smart-Ed project, aimed at enhancing inclusive education across the country.

Under the agreements, Kyrgyzstan will receive $15 million in grant-based technical assistance, an additional $250,000 grant, and a $10 million loan facilitated through the Islamic Solidarity Fund for Development, The Caspian Post reports via Kyrgyz media.

The Smart-Ed project focuses on improving access to quality inclusive education for children by developing educational infrastructure, strengthening the capacity of the education system to adopt inclusive approaches, and providing comprehensive training and retraining for teachers, who will also be equipped with laptops. Additionally, the project will update national educational and methodological materials to better support inclusive learning for all children throughout Kyrgyzstan.

The Finance Ministry has been assigned the responsibility to notify the Islamic Development Bank once all necessary domestic procedures are completed. The law will officially come into effect 10 days after its publication.