Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has pushed for a formal agreement between Ghana’s GoldBod and Kyrgyzstan to facilitate the sharing of expertise as the Central Asian country seeks to strengthen the management and formalisation of its gold sector.
Ablakwa made the proposal when he led Kyrgyzstan’s Foreign Minister Jeenbek Kulubayev to GoldBod, where the two sides discussed cooperation and Ghana’s experience in managing and formalising the gold trade.
The proposed agreement is expected to provide a framework for structured cooperation between GoldBod and relevant Kyrgyz institutions, including the sharing of experience and expertise in gold trading, regulation and the development of the sector.
Mr Kulubayev expressed interest in Ghana’s experience, noting Kyrgyzstan had faced significant challenges with the informal nature of parts of its gold sector over the past 25 years. He said the government had made formalisation a priority after taking office in 2022.
The Kyrgyz minister’s comments come against the backdrop of a gold industry that remains important to the country’s economy but includes gaps in licensing and regulation, particularly in artisanal and small-scale mining. An OECD assessment published in 2026 found that licensing for artisanal and small-scale gold mining had been suspended, with only 21 individual licences active despite estimates that between 25,000 and 75,000 people work in the sector.
Kyrgyzstan nevertheless has a significant formal gold industry, led by the Kumtor gold mine, the country’s largest gold-producing operation. Kumtor produced 12,081 kilogrammes of gold in 2025 and reported revenue of about US$1.43 billion, demonstrating the scale of the country’s established gold industry.
Ghana’s GoldBod was established in 2025 as part of efforts to formalise the domestic gold trade, particularly gold produced by artisanal and small-scale miners, while reducing leakages and strengthening the country’s ability to capture greater value from its gold resources.
The reforms have significantly increased the amount of artisanal and small-scale gold entering formal channels. GoldBod says gold captured from the sector rose to 104 metric tonnes, from about 60 tonnes previously, while the institution reported that the sector generated about US$10.8 billion in foreign exchange for Ghana in 2025.
University of Ghana researchers have also documented the increase, putting formally recorded artisanal and small-scale gold exports at 103.0 tonnes in 2025, compared with 63.6 tonnes in 2024. They estimated that the additional 39.4 tonnes represented about US$3.8 billion in foreign exchange entering the formal economy.
GoldBod’s role has expanded further in 2026, with the institution taking over the full transaction chain for artisanal gold under the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme, including financing, purchasing, assaying and exporting. The International Monetary Fund has described the arrangement as part of Ghana’s broader effort to strengthen the management of its gold resources and foreign-exchange flows.
In August 2026, GoldBod reported generating US$1.315 billion in foreign exchange, with US$668.21 million sold to commercial banks and US$646.59 million made available to the Bank of Ghana for reserve accumulation. The figures underline the growing role of the institution in Ghana’s foreign-exchange market.
The proposed Ghana-Kyrgyzstan cooperation could therefore extend beyond gold trading to include institutional development, investment and broader mineral-sector collaboration. Ablakwa said the framework could create opportunities for exchanges involving investors, entrepreneurs and industry experts, potentially deepening economic ties between Ghana and Kyrgyzstan.
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