Kyrgyzstan Turns Down European Offer on Afghan Refugees

Bishkek (GNP): Kyrgyzstan has rejected a European proposal to host Afghan and African asylum seekers in return for legal employment opportunities for skilled Kyrgyz workers in Europe. Foreign Minister Jeenbek Kulubaev confirmed the position during a session of the parliamentary Committee on International Affairs, Defence, Security and Migration.

Kulubaev spoke in response to questions from lawmakers about overseas employment schemes. He said European officials had offered to take in Kyrgyz workers on one condition. Kyrgyzstan, as a third country, would have to accept migrants from Afghanistan and Africa who are currently staying in Europe.

The minister made clear that Bishkek will not serve as a third-country processing hub. He added that the government supports citizens who look for work abroad on their own initiative, but it will not negotiate bilateral migration deals tied to conditions of this kind.

The proposal arrives as several European governments tighten their migration policies. Some of them are working on schemes to set up offshore processing and transfer centres outside the European Union, and the offer made to Kyrgyzstan fits that wider approach.

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Kulubaev also pointed to a shift in where Kyrgyz labour is heading. A growing number of workers are now travelling to Turkiye and the United States. He said protecting the living standards and working conditions of Kyrgyz nationals abroad remains a priority for the government.

That priority, however, does not extend to accepting asylum transfers from other countries. Kulubaev said, “We are categorically opposed to this.”