Kyrgyzstan’s prime minister, Adylbek Kasymaliev, made the rounds in Washington last week, but corporate executives were not ready to buy his claims that the Central Asian state has “new opportunities” and “an open policy.”

A statement released by the prime minister’s office listed a series of meetings with executives and venture capitalists, including representatives from Boeing, IBM, VISA and Starlink. The prime minister “emphasised the government’s strong commitment to creating the most favourable investment climate, guaranteeing the protection of investors’ rights and providing comprehensive support for projects”. 

Executives seemed dubious about Kasymaliev’s investment pitch: none of the discussions produced even a hint of a pending deal.

The government statement did not refer to any discussions with US diplomats or other Trump administration officials. But a report circulated by the Economist.kg news outlet indicated that Kasymaliev spread a message sure to catch the administration’s ear – that Bishkek is looking to make deals concerning prospecting for and the export of rare earths.

“Kyrgyzstan is ready to offer a reliable and environmentally responsible partnership in the exploration and processing of critical resources,” Kasymaliev said during a roundtable gathering sponsored by the Kyrgyz-American Business Council.

Since taking power in January, the Trump administration’s foreign policy toward Central Asia has been fixated on developing mineral resources and trade, along with cooperation in the civilian nuclear energy sector. To date, administration attention has been mainly focused on Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. 

Kyrgyzstan ranked 146th out of 180 nations surveyed in the watchdog group Transparency International’s 2024 Corruption Perceptions Index. The country’s transparency rating, as tabulated by TI, has gone down in each of the past five years.

Kasymaliev did not leave Washington empty-handed. During his multi-day stay, he signed infrastructure investment deals worth $389mn with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank.

The funding will be used for “projects aimed at developing regions, modernising healthcare, providing access to clean water, supporting small and medium businesses, improving the education system and updating the energy infrastructure,” according to a government statement.

This report first appeared on Eurasianet here.