Page 4 - bneIntelliNews Small Stans & Mongolia Outlook 2025

Given the ambitions of giant neighbours Russia and China in the current highly unpredictable world, Mongolia is perhaps more than ever caught between a rock and a hard place. But the country has a commitment to developing democratic institutions and is open to foreign investment.
A point of anxiety, though, is an amended Minerals Law supposed to support a new sovereign wealth fund, aimed at diversifying Mongolia’s economy. Officials say the fund should be supported by a rebalancing of the wealth of mining firms. Some Western investors in minerals present in the country might not like what follows.
Mongolia is expected to report GDP growth of 5.5% for 2024 and achieve around 7% in 2025. Coal exports to China, which have boomed to record levels in the past two years, are driving the economic expansion.
1.0 Kyrgyzstan
GDP % growth in real terms, Central Asia
Source: EBRD Regional Economic Prospects
1.1 Politics, major themes – Kyrgyzstan
From 2005 to 2020, the Kyrgyz Republic went through three revolutions, toppling the governments of the time. The populist-nationalist Japarov administration, which came to power as a result of the last one, seems intent on nipping any signs of a further uprising in the bud, though the sceptics question how it is that it tends to see a coup around every corner. The issue was examined by bne IntelliNews in July 2024.
Another key topic in Kyrgyzstan is how President Sadyr Japarov is demoting liberal democracy in favour of a “traditionalist” ideology, positioning national customs and spirituality as central to governance, relegating principles like the rule of law and meritocracy to secondary status.
An intriguing aspect of the prevailing regime is its claim to have driven organised crime into the ground and out of the country, whereas
4 Small Stans & Mongolia 2023 www.intellinews.com