The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved an $80 million policy-based lending program to support efforts to diversify the Kyrgyz Republic’s economy and make it more resilient to shocks such as the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

Under the second subprogram of the Promoting Economic Diversification Program (PEDP), ADB will provide a $69.3 million policy-based loan and a $10.7 million grant to help the economy transition from a heavy reliance on gold extraction and remittances to broad-based, sustainable, and inclusive growth.