Foreign Minister of Kyrgyzstan Chingiz Aidarbekov received OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Harlem Desir the day before.
According to the Foreign Ministry, the parties discussed issues of cooperation between Kyrgyzstan and the OSCE in ensuring freedom of speech and the media.
Chingiz Aidarbekov stressed the importance of active work with the media, social networks and the need to increase experience in countering such phenomena as fake news. The parties stressed the role of the fact-checking institute.
Harlem Desir noted the high level of pluralism in the republic, significant achievements and its commitment to the OSCE commitments to ensure freedom of speech and the media. He positively assessed the improvement of the position of the Kyrgyz Republic in the Freedom of Speech ranking compiled by the International Organization Reporters without Borders, where the country took the 83rd place out of 180 countries.
Harlem Desir arrived in Kyrgyzstan to participate in the OSCE Central Asian Media Conference Media Freedom and Pluralism in Times of Digital Transformation, which begins today in Bishkek.
The conference will bring together more than 100 participants from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Mongolia, representing government agencies, the media, associations of journalists, civil society and academic circles for the exchange of views and best practices on this issue.
