The first summit meeting of the Central Asia + Japan Dialogue (CA+JAD) since the establishment of the dialogue framework in 2004 was held in Tokyo on December 20, 2025, and the “Tokyo Declaration” was adopted, including the “CA+JAD Tokyo Initiative” to promote industrial upgrading and diversification in the five Central Asian countries. The Tokyo Declaration, which includes the “CA+JAD Tokyo Initiative,” was adopted.
As part of the introduction of ODA projects, a booth was set up at the commemorative summit meeting to display products from the One Village One Product (OVOP) project, which was launched in Kyrgyzstan and is now being expanded to other countries in Central Asia. The booth was displayed with a variety of unique products made of local materials from Kyrgyzstan and other Central Asian countries, such as white honey and wool felt products. The booth was placed in a position to attract the attention of heads of state and government, and JICA’s East and Central Asia Division Director, Mr. Hirozawa, explained to Kyrgyz President Japarov about the products and the results of cooperation to date.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the economy stagnated due to a series of political upheavals, and many people left the country to work outside of Kyrgyzstan, leading to the decline of local communities and increasing poverty. In 2007, the OVOP Project was initiated to revitalize the region and rebuild the community. In parallel with the continuous development of new products, the project also started from scratch to create a framework for sustainable management, and established the Kyrgyz public interest corporation “OVOP+1”, which is responsible for product development, quality control, store operation, and securing a distribution network. This has created an environment that connects producers and consumers and enables the continuous delivery of high-quality products to the market. In addition, because OVOP products can be produced in any location and can be produced in villages without having to rely on migrant workers, etc., they have contributed to the creation of local employment, improved the livelihood of local residents, and created income-generating opportunities for women. Currently, there are more than 3,000 registered producers, and exports are expanding to Japan, the U.S., France, Norway, and other countries.
The project has grown to the point that it will be adopted as a national project of Kyrgyzstan in 2022, and many government officials and managers from not only Central Asian countries but also from the Caucasus region have visited the project to learn from its successes. The results and know-how gained in Kyrgyzstan are expected to be shared and deployed in neighboring countries, contributing to the promotion of local industries in each country in the future.
This was an opportunity for the leaders of the Central Asian countries to meet and communicate about the project through the developed products. The leaders agreed to continue to cooperate on OVOP in the future, and it is hoped that the results of JICA’s cooperation will be further expanded.
OVOP (One Village, One Product) Project booth set up at the venue
President of the Kyrgyz Republic, V. Zaparov, being briefed on Kyrgyz products
Kyrgyz products (wool felt products, honey, powder, snow leopard soap, baum, etc.)
Tajikistan Products
© Source JICA