10:08, 20 января 2026, Bishkek - 24.kg news agency , Tilebaldy TUKUEVA
President of Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Japarov, in an interview with Kabar news agency, explained the reasons behind the situation with driver’s licenses, measures to combat forged documents, and technical issues affecting Tunduk digital platform.
According to the president, the issue of driver’s licenses had not been addressed for nearly 30 years.
«Our old passports, ID cards, and driver’s licenses were produced abroad, and their security features were weak and of poor quality. Starting last year, we began producing all state documents at Uchkun enterprise. This now includes vehicle registration certificates, driver’s licenses, and even state vehicle license plates. Their quality is of the highest level,» he said.
Sadyr Japarov added that there have been cases in which, among migrant communities, representatives of other nationalities forged and sold old driver’s licenses and ID passports. Some of these forged documents are still being used in Russia.
«There have also been cases of terrorists being detained with forged Kyrgyz passports. All this has damaged the country’s reputation and international image. This will no longer happen. The concept of a ‘forged passport’ will be completely eradicated. That is precisely why we launched this work. If we replace all old driver’s licenses free of charge and fully withdraw them from circulation, forged documents will no longer be usable either within the country or abroad,» the head of state noted.
He specified that there are currently facts showing that some Kyrgyzstanis purchase forged driver’s licenses in Russia and, upon returning to Kyrgyzstan, drive vehicles using these documents.
«In this regard, an inventory and verification of all driver’s licenses and other official documents is being carried out at the state level. The main goal of these measures is to fully identify documents used illegally, streamline the process, ensure the safety of our citizens, and prevent damage to the international standing of our state. For this reason, a decision was made to replace all old-format driver’s licenses with new ones. I would like to emphasize that the protection of the new documents is at the highest level, making them impossible to forge. Therefore, citizens should exchange their old documents for new ones,» Sadyr Japarov said.
Commenting on non-expiring driver’s licenses, the president noted that whether citizens plan to travel abroad or intend to drive only within Kyrgyzstan, their licenses must still be replaced with new ones.
«Some documents are so worn out that the name cannot be read and the photo cannot be recognized. Therefore, even permanent licenses are subject to full replacement. The document replacement service is provided without weekends or breaks. Previously, replacing non-expiring driver’s licenses required a medical certificate (Form No. 083). To make the process more accessible and simplify procedures, a replacement procedure without a medical certificate has been introduced for holders of permanent driver’s licenses. A medical certificate is required only for those obtaining a driver’s license for the first time in their lives,» he explained.
Sadyr Japarov also spoke about the operation of Tunduk portal. According to him, previous governments spoke about digitalization only declaratively, while in practice insufficient attention was paid to this area. Funding was not provided, and the servers were weak.
«Due to the lack of capital investment in the development and modernization of Tunduk server infrastructure, 122.5 million soms were allocated from the presidential fund. These funds will make it possible to modernize Tunduk platform. Currently, Tunduk JSC is selecting suppliers of the necessary equipment. In addition, 9.5 million soms have been allocated from the republican budget for the first stage of the platform’s modernization. As a result, the system’s capacity will increase significantly. Recent cases when the portal was not functioning occurred due to a sharp surge of users logging in simultaneously, which created a heavy load that the server could not handle,» the president said.
He added that in the future, the international community should have no doubts about who is a citizen of Kyrgyzstan. There should be no «dark spots» regarding the country or its citizens, Sadyr Japarov concluded.