Bishkek (AKIpress) – From November 1, 2026 Egypt tightened entry rules for citizens of Kyrgyzstan and a number of other Central Asian countries. The new requirements have already led to the cancellation of sold tours and have actually jeopardized one of the most accessible winter holiday destinations for Kyrgyzstanis.
Egypt was in demand due to its relatively affordable package tours, direct charter flights and all-inclusive packages. The change in rules was especially sensitive for holidays on the Sinai Peninsula, where the popular resort of Sharm el-Sheikh is located. Previously, tourists could take advantage of a simplified entry regime by receiving a free Sinai stamp for up to 15 days. Now the possibility of its use by Kyrgyzstanis remains unclear.
How Tazabek reported representatives of travel companies in Kyrgyzstan, now travelers must carry at least $3 thousand in cash per person or $5 thousand per family. Tourists aged 16 to 40 years are required to travel accompanied by close relatives. In addition, host travel companies must store holidaymakers’ passports until they leave Egypt.
For independent travelers, pre-approval of a visa and coordination with the Egyptian security authorities are provided. The Egyptian Embassy in Kyrgyzstan is located in Astana (Kazakhstan).
The Egyptian side has not yet provided an official detailed explanation of the reasons for the restrictions. However, the nature of the new requirements suggests that one of the main goals is to enhance security.
Until November 1, citizens of Kyrgyzstan could arrive at Sharm el-Sheikh International Airport without a visa and buy a visa for $25 at the airport if visiting Cairo or another part of Egypt beyond the Sinai Peninsula. Visas could be purchased without presenting a passport in any quantity, and also at the hotel through guides.
In case of visiting the Sinai Peninsula for more than 7 days, citizens of Kyrgyzstan had to register and receive an additional triangular stamp from the police. Later, these rules were extended to other citizens of Central Asian countries. Among other security measures, it is prohibited to import drones into Egypt.
Around the beginning of 2025, guides began warning that some tourists were coming to the peninsula and trying to get into the Gaza Strip to fight the Israeli occupation. How true this was is unknown.
The Kyrgyz authorities also complainedthat citizens can easily enter the territory of other countries under the guise of a tourist and begin studying in a religious institution without informing our government agencies.
Meanwhile, Kazakhstan managed to achieve a complete lifting of new restrictions from Egypt. On October 22, the foreign ministers of Kazakhstan and Egypt held talks in Cairo. Uzbekistan achieved a delay until March 1, 2027. Negotiations were held through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the embassy of the republic in Egypt.
Will Kyrgyzstan, following neighboring countries, be able to achieve a review of the tightening of the visa regime or is this not necessary?
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Ministry of Finance of Kyrgyzstan proposed to increase revenue forecast state budget for 2026 by 40.1%, or approximately 242 billion soms. According to the draft revised budget, state revenues in 2026 could amount to 847 billion soms instead of the initially expected 605 billion soms.
A similar situation was observed in 2025, when the initial revenue estimate was revised by 39.5%. According to the report of the Ministry of Finance, initially state budget revenues for 2025 were planned at the level of 474.9 billion soms. However, during the year the forecast was increased to 662.3 billion soms.
Actual revenues at the end of the year amounted to 673.2 billion soms, exceeding the initial forecast by 198.3 billion soms.
Thus, for the second year in a row, the Ministry of Finance is revising the initial estimates of budget revenues by almost 40%.
This dynamic raises questions about the accuracy of budget planning.
Revenue growth can be attributed to increased tax collections, economic activity and additional government revenue. However, it remains unclear why such significant amounts were not taken into account when the budget was initially formed.
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The average cost of travel on the Bishkek Eastern Bypass Road under construction will be about 500 soms. With a route length of 16.5 km, the cost of one kilometer will reach 30.3 soms.
Construction of the four-lane road is estimated to cost $81.6 million, or about $4.95 million per kilometer.
The road was originally planned to open in December 2026. However, on October 30, the contractor (Tez Zhol LLC) announced the postponement of the commissioning date of the facility to May 2027.
For comparison, travel on the first toll road in Kyrgyzstan, a 13.5 km long bypass around Uzgen, costs cars 200 soms, or 14.8 soms per kilometer. The cost of construction of this facility was $29.4 million (consortium of Tez Zhol LLC and Zhagalmay LLC).
The project is being implemented on the terms of a public-private partnership for a period of 30 years. The stated payback period is 12 years.
At a conventional rate of 87 soms per dollar, investments of $81.6 million are equivalent to approximately 7.1 billion soms. To obtain comparable revenue with an average fare of 500 soms, it would take about 14.2 million paid trips, or an average of 3.2 thousand daily over 12 years.
Thus, the key question is the economic justification of the 500 som tariff. Will a toll highway at such a cost be able to attract enough cars to both recoup the investment and significantly relieve congestion on the capital’s roads?
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In the city of Manas (Jalal-Abad) there was daring attempt on municipal property. Dozens of sheep in broad daylight made an organized raid on a well-maintained roundabout at the entrance to the city from the Bishkek-Osh highway.
It is unknown how many millions of budget funds were spent on landscaping the area, but the sheep obviously appreciated the quality of the work performed. They especially liked the flowers planted specifically to decorate the city.
Judging by the video that circulated, the animals acted harmoniously, without fuss and signs of remorse. While some were destroying flower arrangements, others were methodically processing the lawn.
However, the operation to detain the suspects by the mayor’s office failed. By the time the inspectors arrived, the herd had disappeared without a trace, along with its owner.
Now the city authorities are faced with difficult tasks: to establish the value of the eaten landscaping, calculate the damage and write off the lawn as irretrievably lost as a result of criminal acts. This is unusual, since according to the rules, municipal property is rejected in complex accounting records.
Will they be able to find the robbers? There are also difficulties here: the suspects did not leave fingerprints, it will be difficult to recognize them in a confrontation, and the material evidence has already been digested. One hope is for the shepherd’s sincere confession.
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Last week, the US stock market experienced one of the biggest sell-offs in technology stocks in recent months. In particular, after the publication of Alphabet’s financial statements, its shares on October 29 fell by 12.6%. On October 30, the Nasdaq Composite Index fell almost 2.9%. Nvidia shares lost 4.2%, AMD fell 10.9%, Intel fell 28.6%. According to Reuters, the Nasdaq 100 lost more than 5.8% in October, and the decline in the market capitalization of technology companies exceeded $2 trillion.
Investors have begun to question whether multibillion-dollar investments in artificial intelligence will pay off. By JPMorgan estimatesglobal investments in artificial intelligence in 2026 could reach about $900 billion, and by 2030 reach $5.5 trillion.
The main risk factor for American developers is the rapid spread of Chinese neural networks. OpenRouter statistics demonstrate a significant change in the balance of power in the artificial intelligence market. According to analytical project 06.aifrom January to October 2026, the share of Chinese models in the volume of processed tokens increased from 23% to 62%, while the share of American models decreased from 65% to 24%.
Open Chinese models are no longer perceived solely as a budget replacement for American developments and are beginning to compete in the segment of complex intellectual tasks.
The spread of Chinese models can change the global artificial intelligence market more than the emergence of a separate, more powerful neural network.
If companies begin to massively build their own products based on DeepSeek, Qwen, GLM and Kimi, a sustainable technology ecosystem will form around Chinese developments.
However, Chinese developers face another problem: they need to learn how to make money from cheap and accessible AI models. According to OpenRouter, in October 2026, Chinese models accounted for 62% of processed tokens, but only 29% of estimated user spending. Thus, China will have to turn its technological advantage and the growing popularity of its models into sustainable profits. Otherwise, Chinese companies risk winning the fight for users, but losing the fight for revenue.
