Photo: Kyrgyz presidential press service
Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov has urged citizens working abroad to return home, Kaktus.media reports. Speaking at a meeting with residents of the Leilek district in the Batken region, the president said the number of Kyrgyz labor migrants has fallen in recent times, but not to zero.
«We keep urging migrants to come back: ‘Come home, come home, there are jobs.’ They ask what they would do if they returned, claiming they do not even have housing. That is why we are building apartments through the State Mortgage Company. Construction is going on around the clock, in cold and in heat, so that migrants do not leave, and so that those who have left will return. If your children are abroad, call them and tell them to come back. Saying there is no work here is simply an excuse. There is work,» the head of state said.
Addressing residents of the Kadamjai district and the city of Kyzyl-Kyya, Japarov stressed that the Batken region is a strategically important part of Kyrgyzstan.
«All the work being done today is the foundation for Batken's development tomorrow. Roads and schools are being built, and kindergartens are opening. Villages are gradually being supplied with clean drinking water, hospitals are being renovated, and sports facilities are being constructed. Work is under way to expand production. Our goal is to turn the Batken region into an area with a strong economy, developed industry, agriculture, food processing, trade and tourism,» the president concluded.
Kyrgyz authorities have urged migrants to return home before. In July 2026, Foreign Minister Zheenbek Kulubaev said on Birinchi Radio that major infrastructure projects had created many jobs in the country and that wages had risen.
«For the construction of the railway and hydropower plants, we need skilled specialists, including electricians, plumbers, lathe operators and carpenters. Excavator and tractor operators now earn at least 80,000–90,000 soms (about $1,000 on average),» Kulubaev said. He added that working at home is safer and that mortgages are available.
According to data from Kyrgyzstan's Ministry of Labor, Social Security and Migration, 736,600 Kyrgyz citizens have worked abroad since the start of 2026, compared with 798,400 in 2025. Russia remains the main destination, with more than 472,000 Kyrgyz citizens there in March. About 70,000 Kyrgyz migrants were counted in Kazakhstan, around 35,000 in Turkey, about 60,000 in the United States, around 18,000 in South Korea, more than 20,000 in Germany, around 10,000 in the United Arab Emirates, more than 6,000 in Uzbekistan, over 5,000 in Italy and about 7,000 in the United Kingdom. In 2025, migrants sent $3.1 billion to Kyrgyzstan.
