Mountains, faith and goat polo: The unlikely diplomacy drawing Kyrgyzstan to Utah

When Kyrgyzstan President Sadyr Japarov touched down in Salt Lake City on Friday, he was greeted by high-ranking officials in government, religion and philanthropy — and a cowboy.

The unlikely welcoming party represented the unique connections that made Utah Japarov’s central stop in the United States before attending the United Nations General Assembly.

Utah Senate President Stuart Adams invited Japarov to make the 6,600-mile trek from the capital city of Bishkek to the Beehive State during a trade mission to Kyrgyzstan in April.

Opportunities for mutual benefit appeared ripe: both regions count on the outsized strength of their mining industry, mountain tourism and, as it turns out, their Kok-Boru teams.

Kok-Boru, the national sport of Kyrgyzstan, is simple enough: two teams on horseback wrangle over a heavy, headless goat carcass before galloping away to throw it into their opponents’ goal.

The traditional game is the centerpiece of the World Nomad Games, which were held this month in Kyrgyzstan. It has also become a surprising tool of diplomatic bridge-building.

For the past eight years, Utah resident Ladd Howell has helped lead a team from the U.S., disproportionately rostered with Utah players, to compete in the international event.

While Team USA lost all three of its games this year, Howell set a tournament record for the number of goals, scoring 15 and, in the process, emerged as something of a national celebrity.

Which is why Howell stood on the tarmac to meet Japarov alongside Adams, Sterling Foundation CEO Miles Hansen and Elder Marcus B. Nash of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The visit by the Kyrgyz delegation may have been sparked by a shared love of horses and hopes for greater economic ties, but on Saturday the focus was largely on something else: faith.

Why Utah?

In some ways Kyrgyzstan — a former member of the Soviet Union, where 90% of the population identifies as Muslim and around two-thirds live in rural areas — is nothing like the state of Utah.

But Adams and Nash were quick to point out similarities between the nomadic nation and the pioneer history of Utah, one of the global capitals of Christianity, on a tour of the new Museum of Utah.

“We have the same values,” Nash told Japarov as he explained the founding of the Church of Jesus Christ. “We have learned that freedom of religion leads to flourishing of humankind.”

The church embraces its interfaith mission through humanitarian work, totaling $1.6 billion in 2025 alone.

Some of this aid went to Kyrgyzstan in the form of laundry machines for orphanages, newborn incubators and monitoring equipment for hospitals, and staff training for 35 medical facilities.

Beyond church outreach, economic trends and geopolitical pressures have also turned the attention of Kyrgyzstan toward America, according to Ambassador of Kyrgyzstan to the U.S. Edil Baisalov.

The Central Asian country has one of the highest economic growth rates in the world, with gross domestic product continuing a yearslong expansion by 11% in 2025, nearly tripling since 2020.

This growth coincided with greater business from Russia and huge infrastructure investments by Japarov.

But now Kyrgyzstan is looking to make its domestic boom, accompanied by high inflation, more sustainable by seeking better ties with the “world community,” Baisalov told the Deseret News.

“When we look at the United States, we know that Utah is not only the most successful among 50 states, the most dynamic state, but also we have natural affinity to your people,” he said.

The United States is also taking a closer look at Kyrgyzstan under President Donald Trump.

Over the past year, U.S. Special Envoy for South and Central Asia Sergio Gor has secured $25 billion in commercial deals with Kyrgyzstan and neighboring countries that border China.

The U.S. was seen as a friend following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, but it was not until Trump retook the presidency that Central Asian diplomacy became more of a priority, Baisalov said.

“This is a very special momentum, and we are very much excited about the Trump administration’s outreach,” he said.

Why it matters

The impact of a presidential visit, even from a small country, is significant for Utah’s business environment and global influence, according to World Trade Center Utah CEO Jonathan Freedman.

Kyrgyzstan is located in a “rough neighborhood,” Freedman told the Deseret News. And a visit like this will open up doors for companies to move manufacturing and mining operations to the country, he said.

Adams believes forming these relationships will help the country shore up democratic republic institutions. This can be helped along by the principles of faith the leaders hold in common, he told the Deseret News.

“They actually, I think, are drawn to Utah because of our deep-seated religious beliefs,” Adams said. “Even though Christians and Muslims are greatly different in some respects, we’re very similar in so many.”

The first impression Utah made on Kyrgyzstan’s Minister of Natural Resources, Toktobaev Akyl Toktobaevich, was not the grand views or grid streets. It was something about how the people treated him.

As a father to two little girls and a boy, the “family values” in Utah stand out, he told the Deseret News. There is also something “outgoing” about the people that is harder to describe.

“I feel that,” he said. “They’re very spiritually clear people.”

For Howell, the arrival of the Kyrgyz delegation is the unusual conclusion of a story that started in 2006.

Howell, who grew up in Rexburg, Idaho, was called to serve a two-year mission for the church in St. Petersburg, Russia, largely in rural areas where he had to chop firewood to heat his shower.

After coming home, he went to Weber State on a rodeo scholarship, competing in tie-down roping, team roping and steer wrestling. He later learned this skill set prepared him for international relations.

One day he was approached to join America’s budding Kok-Boru team with his extremely rare background in both roping and Russian — which is spoken by 80% of Kyrgyz people. He immediately said, “yes.”

But what started out as a way to test his horsemanship has grown into something much more.

“When I talk to our team, those are the three things that we really want to try to let people know what we’re representing, is our faith in Christ, our country and our cowboy culture,” Howell told the Deseret News.

This is made easier by the fact that he conducts all his interviews in the native language.