Business community of Kyrgyzstan has appealed to the country's leadership in connection to the current situation with the international arbitration. According to the results of arbitration trials in the past few months, Kyrgyzstan has to pay millions of dollars in compensation to foreign companies. This deeply concerns the business community and the general public of Kyrgyzstan.

The appeal lists the most notable current court proceedings.

On October 24, 2014, the International Court of Arbitration in Paris ordered the Government of Kyrgyzstan to pay $16.5 million to the Manas Bank CJSC owner Valery Belokon.

On June 30, 2014 the Arbitration Court of the Moscow Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) ordered Kyrgyzstan to pay $118 million to Canadian mining company Stans Energy Corp. On October 14, the Ontario Supreme Court of Justice in Canada arrested over 60% of Kyrgyzstan's shares (owned by the Kyrgyzaltyn JSC) worth $47 million in Centerra Gold Inc.

On November 13, 2013, the MCCI Permanent Court of Arbitration ordered Kyrgyzstan to pay $23 million over the claim of a Korean citizen Lee John Beck and the SEZ Development Central Corporation JSC.

Recently, the Kyrgyz Government paid $11.4 million over the claim of the Turkish company Sistem Muhendislik Insaat Sanayive Ticaret A.S., former owner of the Pinara Bishkek hotel (now Ak-Keme hotel). However, the dispute between Kyrgyzstan and the Turkish company has not been settled yet.

Currently, the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA), an international organization based in The Hague in the Netherlands is considering a $260 million claim against Kyrgyzstan of former AsiaUniversalBank (AUB) shareholder Mikhail Nadel.

The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes is considering a $548 million claim against Kyrgyzstan of the Consolidated Exploration Holdings (shareholders of Jerooyaltyn JSC).

The total amount of the above mentioned claims against Kyrgyzstan is about $1 billion.

The business community believes that the main reason for this situation is the lack of political will and active involvement of the Government of Kyrgyzstan in the disputes’ settlement. It is particularly regrettable that it was possible to settle most of the disputes at an early stage by negotiation and achievement of compromise solutions.

The business community has repeatedly appealed to various government agencies and to the top officials to settle the dispute with Stans Energy Corp., the SEZ Development Central Corporation and other companies, but the Government has not taken the necessary steps to negotiate and resolve these disputes. Moreover, Stans Energy Corp. declares its readiness to participate in the negotiations and reject the claim if the company is provided with the opportunity to freely conduct works on the Jerooy gold deposit in accordance with the initial agreements.

These arbitration results not only bring multimillion-dollar losses but also affect negatively the international investment attractiveness of the country, especially for large companies operating in accordance with the highest standards of environmental and technical safety, labor and other norms. In addition, this affects the social and political situation in the country, creating additional tension and uncertainty, discontent and distrust of society in public authorities.

The situation is aggravated by the recent statements of senior officials who wrongly transfer the lost arbitrations to companies, arbitration courts and foreign governments.

The business community has called on senior officials of Kyrgyzstan to take urgent steps to negotiate with each company that has initiated or intends to initiate arbitration proceedings with the Kyrgyz Republic. The negotiations should be aimed at achieving mutually acceptable agreements and disputes’ settlement.

The business community has proposed to create a body in the form of a commission, council or conciliation group including representatives from the business community and the authorized officials to negotiate investment disputes, provided that there is a political will and commitment of officials to participate effectively in the negotiations.

Such kind of cooperation, widely used in the international practice, could be a temporary but in the long term permanent platform to resolve investment disputes and prevent them in the future.

The appeal was signed by the International Business Council, the Association of Young Entrepreneurs of Kyrgyzstan (JIA), the Union of Banks of Kyrgyzstan, the Union of Entrepreneurs of Kyrgyzstan, Kyrgyz-Russian Association "The New Economic Initiatives", the Association of Suppliers, and the Bishkek Business Club.