President of Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Japarov signed the Law «On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts (the Code of Offences, the Law «On Subsoil») and invalidating the Law «On Prohibition of Activities Related to the Geological Survey of Subsoil for the Purpose of Search, Exploration and Development of Uranium, Thorium Deposits in the Kyrgyz Republic.»
The document was adopted by the Parliament on June 13, 2024.
In order to achieve a balance between ensuring environmental safety, the use of strategically important resources for the country and the development of the economy of Kyrgyzstan, the law lifts the ban on activities related to geological survey of subsoil for the purpose of searching, exploration and development of uranium and thorium deposits in Kyrgyzstan.
The bill «On amendments to certain legislative acts (the Code of Offenses, the Law «On Subsoil») and invalidation of the Law «On Prohibition of Activities Related to the Geological Survey of Subsoil for the Purpose of Search, Exploration and Development of Uranium and Thorium deposits in the Kyrgyz Republic» was submitted to the Parliament in mid-May. The regulatory legal act was initiated by the Cabinet of Ministers.
In the spring of 2019, a number of rallies were held in Kyrgyzstan against the project on the development of Tash-Bulak uranium deposit in Issyk-Kul region. The result of numerous protests was the revocation of the uranium development license. Later, a law prohibiting the exploration and development of uranium and thorium deposits was passed in the country.
