Switzerland has allocated CHF 3.5 mln (around 320 million soms) for the project to contribute to decent work and income opportunities for many people working in this area. It will help to develop cross-country skiing, ice skating, snow shoeing and other winter sport activities in Karakol destination, which then will be roll out in other regions of the country.

The event was attended by representatives of Kyrgyz authorities, international organizations, tourism businesses, civil and expert communities.

“I am confident that through our joint efforts we can achieve success in development of winter tourism. Moreover, we can make our country famous in many parts of the world and create an effective mechanism of sustainable winter tourism development", - said Kiyal Kenjematova, Deputy Director of the Department of Tourism under the Ministry of Culture, Sports, Information, Tourism and Youth Policy.

“Tourism in Kyrgyzstan can become an important contributor to economic growth, creating income and economic opportunities for many people. Supporting the Kyrgyz Government and other Kyrgyz partners in their efforts to develop the private sector including for tourism remains one of the priorities of the Swiss cooperation”, said Olivier Bangerter, Swiss Ambassador to Kyrgyzstan.

The Swiss project will also address the issues of climate change and environmental protection. During the event, the participants were presented with main areas of work and planned activities.

The first phase of the project is designed for four years and implemented by Helvetas Kyrgyzstan.

Health managers are responsible for managing entire health facilities and coordinating the service delivery processes. The Center was established in 2019 in Bishkek to support their training. Switzerland has allocated more than 7 million soms for the renovation and equipment of the Center, including computers, projectors, and interactive whiteboards.

During his welcoming speech the Minister of Health thanked the Government of Switzerland for more than 20 years of support to the health sector in the form of technical, financial and humanitarian assistance. "We plan that this Resource Centre will work with interested partners to increase professional level of health managers," said Minister Alymkadyr Beishenaliyev.

The health of the population and the quality of health services depend on the knowledge and skills of these managers; “our aim is that ordinary citizens are better served in the health system and this center will make a difference,” said the Swiss Ambassador Olivier Bangerter.

The Center will train health managers according to the needs for effective management they have identified. It will also offer an electronic archive on domestic and foreign best practices in health management and leadership skills.

The Center is created within the Swiss Health Management Strengthening Project, which has been working since August 2020 in cooperation with Euro Health Group (Denmark) and Public Fund “Health System Initiatives” (Kyrgyzstan).