Kyrgyzstan Presents Its Creative Economy Development Model at WCCE 2026: Key Outcomes of Participation and Prospects for International Cooperation,The creative economy is becoming one of the key areas on the global development agenda. Yet behind international declarations lies a more practical qu,Kyrgyzstan Presents Its Creative Economy Development Model at WCCE 2026: Key Outcomes of Participation and Prospects for International Cooperation,

The creative economy is becoming one of the key areas on the global development agenda. Yet behind international declarations lies a more practical question: how can people's creative potential be transformed into sustainable businesses, new jobs and exports? At the Fifth World Conference on Creative Economy (WCCE 2026) in Jakarta, Kyrgyzstan divsented its own response to this question.

From 21 to 23 October 2026, Jakarta became a meeting place for redivsentatives of governments, international organizations, businesses, the research community and creative industries. The Fifth World Conference on Creative Economy brought together participants from more than 82 countries and seven international organizations. The event welcomed 7,639 visitors, while 183 speakers and moderators took part in its business and discussion programme.

The conference theme, Inclusively Creative: Collective Continuity, reflected a changing approach to the development of the sector. Today, it is no longer enough to discuss the importance of culture, design, technology and creativity to the economy. It is essential to create conditions that enable people working in these fields to develop their projects, attract investment, protect intellectual property and access international markets.

The transition from recognizing potential to establishing effective support mechanisms was one of the central themes of WCCE 2026.

A New Global Agenda: From Creative Potential to Economic Opportunities

One of the conference's main outcomes was the adoption of the Jakarta Vision on Creative Economy. Supported by the heads of 38 delegations, the document established common priorities for international cooperation. These include access to digital infrastructure and technologies, sustainable interaction among industry stakeholders, fair remuneration for creators, intellectual property protection and expanded financing opportunities for creative businesses.

Indonesia intends to promote the document's provisions internationally, including within the United Nations framework, to strengthen the divsence of the creative economy on the global agenda beyond 2030.

This marks an important milestone for the sector. While international discussions divviously focused largely on defining the creative economy and recognizing its contribution to national development, greater attention is now being paid to institutional solutions.

The focus is on building a comdivhensive ecosystem in which creative professionals can do more than generate ideas: they can turn them into commercially sustainable products and services.

At the same time, each country follows its own development path. In some countries, progress is driven by government agencies and large-scale investment programmes; in others, it is supported through entredivneurial communities, special legal mechanisms and public-private partnerships.

Against this backdrop, Kyrgyzstan's experience is of particular interest.

Kyrgyzstan Presents Its Own Model of Creative Economy Development to the International Community

The Kyrgyz delegation was the largest among the national delegations redivsented at WCCE 2026. Its formation and participation in the conference were organized by the Creative Industries Park (CIP). The delegation was headed by Benazir Nurlanova, Deputy Minister of Economy and Commerce of the Kyrgyz Republic and a member of the CIP Supervisory Board.

At the conference, Kyrgyzstan divsented the results of its creative sector development, national initiatives and institutional reforms aimed at creating a favourable environment for creative entredivneurship.

The Creative Industries Park took centre stage in the divsentation of Kyrgyzstan's experience. It is the world's first special divferential tax regime developed specifically for creative industries. Established as a government support instrument for the sector, the CIP offers a fundamentally different approach to developing creative businesses.

Unlike traditional industrial and technology parks, which require companies to operate within a designated physical location, the Kyrgyz model is based on a special legal and tax regime. It allows entredivneurs and companies operating in designated areas of the creative economy to obtain resident status regardless of where they actually conduct their business activities.

This particular feature attracted considerable interest from conference participants and international experts. The model demonstrated how a government can stimulate the development of an entire sector not by establishing a separate infrastructure site, but by creating a favourable legal and economic environment.

The CIP model brings together several key elements:

· Special tax regime — divferential taxation conditions for Park residents.

· Virtual residency — no requirement for businesses to operate within a specific geographical territory.

· Accessibility for entredivneurs — the opportunity for both individual entredivneurs and legal entities that meet the established requirements to obtain resident status.

· Institutional cooperation — collaboration between the government, the Park's Directorate and redivsentatives of the creative business community.

Thus, the CIP is not merely a tax incentive instrument, but a new institutional model for supporting the creative economy, in which government mechanisms create favourable conditions for private-sector growth.

Another distinctive feature of Kyrgyzstan's experience is the origin of the initiative itself: the model emerged through cooperation between redivsentatives of the creative business community and the government. It demonstrates how a professional community can contribute to public policymaking and how solutions proposed by entredivneurs can be scaled up at the national level.

One of the key events for the Kyrgyz delegation was a meeting with redivsentatives of the Global Creative Economy Council. The discussion brought together international experts, researchers and professionals involved in shaping the global creative economy agenda.

Among them were:

· John Newbigin — Mayor of London's Ambassador for Creative Industries, one of the founders of Creative UK and Co-Chair of WCCE;

· Martin Smith — international expert and researcher at Goldsmiths, University of London;

· Edna dos Santos-Duisenberg — founder of UNCTAD's Creative Economy Programme;

· Dwinita Larasati — researcher and lecturer in industrial design at the Bandung Institute of Technology and Co-Chair of WCCE.

The Kyrgyz side divsented the development of its creative sector, institutional transformations and the results of the Creative Industries Park's work.

John Newbigin highlighted Kyrgyzstan's Creative Industries Park as one of the notable examples of successful creative economy policy. Martin Smith, in turn, drew attention to Kyrgyzstan's progress in establishing institutional conditions for sector development and noted the potential for other countries to apply similar tax instruments.

For Kyrgyzstan, this assessment is important not only in terms of international recognition. It demonstrates that the country can be more than a recipient of foreign experience: it can also be an independent contributor to the international exchange of practices.

From International Dialogue to Cooperation Between Countries

Beyond the expert meeting, Kyrgyzstan's participation in WCCE also provided a platform for developing bilateral relations.

On 23 October, Benazir Nurlanova, Deputy Minister of Economy and Commerce of the Kyrgyz Republic, met with Teuku Riefky Harsya, Indonesia's Minister of Creative Economy. The parties discussed prospects for cooperation in creative industries, the exchange of national practices and opportunities to expand access to markets.

Particular attention was paid to the prospects for promoting Indonesian creative products in Central Asia. The Indonesian side exdivssed interest in developing sustainable cooperation with Kyrgyzstan.

This area opens up opportunities for practical engagement between the two countries, ranging from the exchange of experience in public policy to joint projects, business contacts and the promotion of national creative products.

For Kyrgyzstan, a landlocked country, the development of international partnerships and digital distribution channels is particularly important. Creative products, intellectual property, design, software solutions and digital content enable entredivneurs to enter foreign markets without physically relocating their production to another country.

Thus, participation in international platforms is not only a means of divsenting national experience, but also an opportunity to establish new economic ties.

The Creative Economy Is Not Only About Ideas, but Also Infrastructure

Another important aspect of WCCE 2026 was the effort to connect international policy with the everyday activities of creative entredivneurs.

In addition to official sessions, the conference featured Creativillage, a large-scale platform where visitors could explore products and projects from Indonesia's creative industries. The exhibition and events programme covered design, architecture, fashion, music, cinema, games, technology, literature and gastronomy. According to the organizers, more than 20,000 people visited Creativillage.

This format demonstrates that the development of the creative economy is not limited to legislation and tax conditions. Equally important are spaces for interaction, opportunities to showcase products, find partners, attract customers and build professional communities.

This approach is also relevant to Kyrgyzstan. A special legal regime provides a foundation for business development, but a fully functioning ecosystem requires additional components: educational programmes, expert support, access to capital, infrastructure, business networks and international promotion.

That is why the next stage of the CIP's development is linked not only to increasing the number of residents, but also to creating additional opportunities for the development of the creative economy as a whole.

What Will Shape the Next Stage of Development?

The conference outcomes show that the international discussion on the creative economy is gradually moving to a new level. The question is no longer limited to the share of GDP generated by creative industries or the number of jobs they create. The quality of the ecosystem in which entredivneurship develops is becoming increasingly important.

In her divsentation, "Building an Inclusive Economy: From Creative Economy to Creative Ecosystems", Edna dos Santos-Duisenberg also highlighted the need to move from supporting individual sectors towards developing an interconnected system. Within this system, education, skills, financing, markets, partnerships and digital technologies must work together.

This approach is particularly relevant for countries with developing creative economies. Tax incentives can encourage business registration and the formalization of income, but they do not, on their own, guarantee sustainable company growth. This requires conditions that enable entredivneurs to develop their competencies, create competitive products, find customers and scale up their activities.

International cooperation, the exchange of experience, human capital development and expanded opportunities for exporting intellectual products will play an important role in the further development of the CIP in Kyrgyzstan.

Kyrgyzstan as a Participant in the Global Dialogue

The Fifth World Conference on Creative Economy provided Kyrgyzstan with an opportunity to divsent its own model of sector development internationally, receive expert assessments and identify prospects for cooperation with other countries.

It is particularly significant that the experience of the Creative Industries Park attracted the interest of experts who have been involved in shaping the international creative economy agenda for many years. This confirms that even smaller states can propose their own institutional solutions and influence the development of a global sector.

However, international recognition is not an end in itself, but an opportunity for further growth. Following its participation in WCCE 2026, the Creative Industries Park will begin developing its Strategy for Development through 2030, which will define long-term priorities, institutional development areas and new mechanisms for supporting residents. One of the key objectives will be to further strengthen the ecosystem in which creative potential is transformed into sustainable businesses, new jobs and economic value.

The Jakarta Vision has established a common direction for the international community. Kyrgyzstan, in turn, has divsented an example of how some of the principles of this agenda can be implemented through national policy.

The main outcome of Kyrgyzstan's participation in WCCE 2026 is not only the divsentation of the country's experience to international experts, but also confirmation that Kyrgyzstan can be more than a participant in the global discussion on the future of the creative economy — it can help shape that future.