World Bulletin / News Desk 

Kyrgyzstan's Prime Minister Joomart Otorbayev resigned on Thursday after facing criticism in parliament over his cabinet's failure to clinch a deal with Canada's Centerra Gold, operator of the country's biggest gold mine.

Otorbayev did not immediately give a reason for his resignation.

His decision, however, followed several hours of heated debate in the legislature over the government's performance last year, with many deputies attacking the cabinet for failing to reach agreement on a new financial deal with Centerra.

"I believe that the majority coalition will now find someone who will work better," Otorbayev told deputies.

Toronto-listed Centerra, which runs the Kumtor gold mine, has been in talks with the Kyrgyz government for more than a year on a deal that would involve the state swapping its 32.7 percent stake in Centerra for half of a joint venture that would control the gold deposit.

Talks hit a new hurdle this month after Otorbayev said that instead of forming the long-discussed joint venture to run Kumtor, the government now wanted to increase its representation on Centerra's board of directors.

Kumtor accounted for 7.4 percent of the central Asian country's gross domestic product in 2013.

Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev must now sign a decree accepting the resignation of Otorbayev and his cabinet. The three-party majority coalition will then have 15 days to present the candidature of a new premier to the legislature for approval.