Global partnerships strengthen Kyrgyzstan’s digital identity and credentials
Kyrgyzstan has set a path toward digital transformation, highlighting digital identity as one of the main components of its national development plan. The adoption of universal ID numbers in 2014 marked the start of the nation’s attempts to modernize its identity systems. Since then, Kyrgyzstan has introduced digital ID cards and biometric passports, representing its devotion to effective and safe management. To increase security, the government initiated issuing biometric passports in 2021. Later, e-ID cards were launched with the support of international partners like KOMSCO, incorporating fingerprint biometrics and IC chips to prevent fraud and protect identity.
Kyrgyzstan’s Digital Transformation Vision for 2024–2028 aims to integrate public services through platforms like Tunduk, modeled after Estonia’s X-Road system. The Ministry of Digital Development is leading the execution of this concept.
Furthermore, to improve travel and regional security, Kyrgyzstan is investigating cross-border digital identity possibilities with neighbors such as Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. Global technology companies like Mühlbauer and Emptech are delivering biometric credentials and digital IDs. Despite problems in infrastructure and rural connectivity, Kyrgyzstan is positioned to become a regional spearhead in digital governance, cross-border mobility, and cybersecurity.
Kyrgyzstan’s digital identity program evolution
Kyrgyzstan’s digital identity program has grown significantly since the implementation of unified ID numbers in 2014, signaling a trend away from traditional identification methods into more advanced digital ID systems. This initial step laid the groundwork for several milestones to strengthen security and governance.
Kyrgyzstan implemented biometric passports in 2021, which integrate facial recognition data to improve border control and prevent identity fraud. Following this, the government introduced e-ID cards containing IC chips storing fingerprint biometrics, along with holograms, which were produced in partnership with global technology providers.
These digital ID cards provide citizens with access to digital public services and cross-border facilities, providing secure digital identities. These technologies give citizens of Kyrgyzstan protection against fraud and secure and easy access to government services. They also form a base for Kyrgyzstan’s wider digital transformation vision, aimed at civilizing national security and regional integration.
ID card replacement campaign
This year the Republic of Kyrgyzstan has begun a campaign to replace the 2004 AN series of ID cards with new digital ID cards, free of charge. According to the report of 24 KG News, the Ministry of Digital Development, as of August 30, about 100,000 applications had been processed, and more than 74,000 passports had been produced. Citizens from Bishkek, the Osh region, and 7 other regions participated in the campaign.
The Kyrgyz President acknowledged widespread reports that Kyrgyz passports and ID cards have previously been sold to foreign citizens, saying they will all become invalid with the transition to new national IDs.
Digital transformation efforts
Kyrgyzstan’s Digital Transformation vision for 2024-2028 is an ambitious plan to improve the country’s e-government system. The Ministry of Digital Development is working on initiatives to digitalize public services, intending to reduce the burden on bureaucracy and improve service delivery through technological developments. The Tunduk platform, inspired by projects like Estonia’s X-Road, allows for secure data sharing between government systems and the public. The platform has merged over 160 public services into mobile applications, allowing citizens to easily access important services.
The government’s prime approach has a mobile emphasis; due to this, the mobile penetration rate is 98 percent of the country’s population, allowing citizens to have digitized IDs, licenses, and certificates on their phones that can be used for official purposes. The legal recognition of these identity documents has improved the operations and effectiveness of the processes, especially in the banking and transport sectors. Further, this digitalization process has also benefited from collaboration with international partners like the UNDP. Enhanced mobile coverage, improvement of security, and striving for integration have been the objectives set forward in the development of the digital transformation of Kyrgyzstan in a bid to make the state more effective, and transparent and to enhance the participation of citizens in the digital economy of the country.
Single-border access management and cross-border initiatives
In Kyrgyzstan, the process of regional border crossing is being accelerated with the participation of each neighboring country through regional cross-border projects using ID cards. According to the Times of Central Asia, a special representative of the president of Uzbekistan on foreign policy issues has announced that Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan are discussing a way for citizens of both countries to cross the state border using national ID cards. Kamilov announced in a statement that Uzbekistan has completed the legal formalization of the border with Kazakhstan and demarcated the border with Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan.
To be implemented covering the whole transport spectrum faculty of air transport, inter-university transportation, bus transport, and car transport. Which requires stamping of the identification document will cease and documents will be computerized.
This alternative solution is likely to solve the problem of border citizens and exclaves movement restrictions. It will also pave strong partnerships in the region, a higher security situation, the sourcing of more trade, and promoting tourism in the region. Though these changes will bring many gains in efficient solutions, the concern in the sharing of data across borders and security remains and needs countries to have great covenants and confidence. These projects, as proposed in the Astana Summit, if further supported by Kazakhstan and other countries of the region, would contribute to the engagement and relationship to develop mass tourism in Central Asia.
Global tech partnerships
Kyrgyzstan has worked actively with international technology supply companies to develop its digital governance efforts, specifically in the areas of security and digital identity management. South Korea’s KOMSCO (Korea Minting, Security Printing, and ID Card Operating Corporation) is a key partner. In 2022, KOMSCO and Kyrgyzstan’s Ministry of Digital Development signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to digitize government-issued documents such as ID cards and tax certificates. Before 2017, KOMSCO supplied IC chip-enabled resident cards, and the recent MOU aims to adapt these physical documents into mobile ones. KOMSCO won the Kyrgyzstan government’s $10 million contract to supply 3 million e-ID cards and related systems in 2016, as reported by Korea Times. The adoption of the e-ID card is part of the Central Asian country’s plan to build a resident registration system as well as set up an e-government. Following the first shipment of 200,000 e-ID cards, KOMSCO delivered 3 million in 2017 and renewed their previous national ID cards, and the new cards facilitated the identification of voters in the presidential election.
Talking to the Korea Herald, KOMSCO CEO Ban Jang-sik has said that the MOU marks an opportunity for the company to showcase its domestically developed expertise in mobile IDs and fraud detection solutions in the global market. The company plans to expand its areas of export — traditionally centered on security papers and ink — to digital security solutions.
German company Mühlbauer ID Services GmbH produces Kyrgyzstan’s biometric passports, with America-based Entrust Datacard contributing personalization equipment. Overall project coordination was provided by the State Enterprise INFOCOM under the State Registration Service (SRS) to the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic. These passports contain 30 security measures, including microcircuits that store biometric data such as fingerprints. This arrangement to produce 1.5 million passports represents Kyrgyzstan’s shift toward secure travel and identity verification in the digital era, to protect citizens from identity fraud while also facilitating international travel.
Kyrgyzstan has collaborated with Emptech since 2016 to secure its digital ID systems, including its e-ID Card Personalization System, which uses laser engraving technology to improve anti-counterfeiting procedures and reduce fraud. This innovative solution is crucial for increasing digital ID document security, allowing Kyrgyzstan to increase trust in its national identity system.
Recently, Kyrgyzstan’s Ministry of Digital Development and China’s Silk Road Industrial Internet Promotion Center have signed a memorandum to enhance digital infrastructure and technological collaboration, aligned with a commitment to science and technology cooperation. The agreement outlined the targets of the development of data processing centers, digital solutions, and adopting best practices in industrial internet technologies. This collaboration demonstrates a significant step ahead in Kyrgyzstan’s dedication to data security, strengthening public administration, and digital transformation. This cooperation resonates with the recently affirmed collaboration between the EU and Kyrgyz Republic in digital development at the Global Gateway Forum in Brussels. The partnership concentrates explicitly on various dimensions of digital development, including providing online public services, fostering digital skills, and bolstering cybersecurity and personal data protection.
Kyrgyzstan’s Ministry of Digital Development has also formed an alliance with UNDP and the e-Government Academy this year. These collaborations have been crucial in the implementation of the Kyrgyz Republic’s new Digital Transformation Concept for 2024-2028, infusing fresh momentum into the collaborative efforts between UNDP, other development partners, and the state.
Challenges and future opportunities
Kyrgyzstan’s digital transformation is succeeding rapidly, but it faces significant challenges. The infrastructure gaps, in rural areas, and limited digital literacy hinder the adoption of e-services. Safeguarding robust cybersecurity management and cross-border data-sharing collaboration is crucial to mitigating risks. However, Kyrgyzstan’s strategic partnerships with global tech firms and international organizations, notably UNDP, Entrust, Mühlbauer, and others, offer significant opportunities for innovation and growth. Kyrgyzstan’s digital identity program has paved the way for modernization, despite ongoing obstacles.
Article Topics
biometrics | digital economy | digital government | digital ID | eID | government services | KOMSCO | Kyrgyzstan | UNDP
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