There is an obligation for passive infrastructure sharing in the country to deliver telecom services to end users. It is practised in the mobile sector and in the fixed sector based on commercial agreements.

The government owns shares in certain telecom companies. In particular, Alfa Telecom (trademark Mega) is fully owned by the State of Kyrgyzstan. In 2023, the company was internally “sold” from the State Agency for State Property Management to the State Bank of Development. Furthermore, for Kyrgyztelecom Open Joint Stock Company (Kyrgyz Telecom OJSC) the ownership structure consists of 76,8% owned by the Ministry of Digital Development, 12.5% by the Social Fund and the remaining shares are owned by private individuals and entities.

Although procurement processes for projects financed by international donors are typically announced through standard international tender platforms, it has been reported that certain government procurement activities occur outside established procedures. In some instances, tenders are published only one or two days before the submission deadline, reportedly granting advantages to firms with insider knowledge or close ties to government actors. In 2023, the President reportedly signed a decree advising state-owned enterprises to give priority to goods sourced from domestic manufacturers. Additionally, foreign companies bidding for government contracts may be required to provide notarised documents translated into Russian, and in some cases, submission of physical (hard copy) documents remains obligatory.

The Kyrgyz Republic is not a party to the World Trade organization (WTO) Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA). However, it has observer status since October 1999.

There are no foreign ownership limitations in sectors relevant for digital trade.

It is reported that the government may impose investment-specific requirements including a minimum number of local seats on a board of directors, particularly for large investors. This is despite Art. 4 of Law No. 66 establishes that the Kyrgyz Republic shall not permit discrimination in respect of investors on the basis of their citizenship, nationality, language, sex, race, religion, place of their economic activity and country of origin of investors or investments.

It is reported that the government may impose investor-specific requirements for larger companies, such as a percentage of local employment.

According to Art. 25 of Law No. 69, patent applications must be submitted in the state or official language, which can be either Kyrgyz or Russian. Foreign applicants are permitted to file their applications in another language, provided they include a translation into one of the two official languages.

According to Art. 7 of Law No. 69, applicants who are not residents of Kyrgyzstan must be represented by a local attorney for issues related to the registration and enforcement of patents.

The Kyrgyz Republic is a party to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT). However, the country does not consider itself bound by Art. 59 related to disputes. It should be noted that this treaty was signed in 1970, at a time when the Kyrgyz Republic was part of the Soviet Union. In 1994, the Kyrgyz Republic issued a declaration of continued application and the date of entry into force assigned was the date of independence, which is December 1991.

The Kyrgyz Republic has a copyright regime under the Law No. 6. However, the exceptions do not follow the fair use or fair dealing model, therefore limiting the lawful use of copyrighted work by others. Arts. 18-25 list the exceptions, which include use of a work for educational purposes and by persons with print disabilities, use by libraries, archives and educational establishments, limitations and exceptions regarding accessible format copies, among others.

The Kyrgyz Republic is a signatory of the World Trade organization (WTO) Information Technology Agreement (ITA) of 1996, but is not a signatory of its 2015 expansion (ITA II).

Art. 4.3 of Law No. 27 stipulates that, to safeguard the domestic market of the Kyrgyz Republic, foster national economic development, and support local producers, the Cabinet of Ministers may implement preferences for goods of Kyrgyz origin in public tenders. Additionally, the Cabinet has the authority to impose bans or restrictions on the admission of goods from foreign countries.

Pursuant to Art. 10.1 of the Law on the National Payment System, payment operations in Mongolia, including but not limited to electronic funds transfers, are subject to licensing requirements.