Kyrgyz President Urges Mass Media To Strengthen SCO Image Globally

Kyrgyz President Sooronbay Jeenbekov urged mass media on Friday to reinforce the public image of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) on the international scene

BISHKEK (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 24th May, 2019) Kyrgyz President Sooronbay Jeenbekov urged mass media on Friday to reinforce the public image of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) on the international scene.

On Friday, Bishkek is hosting a media forum of the SCO member states, comprising chiefs of state bodies supervising mass media. The Kyrgyz leader took part in the opening of the event.

"Our goal is to create an objective view of the SCO and strengthen the organization's public image within the international community ... The level of awareness of the organization's activities, its cumulative potential, the results of multilateral cooperation and achievements, its plans and prospects remains relatively low not only in the world but also in the SCO countries," the president said, as quoted by his press service.

Jeenbekov expressed hope that the media forum would become a unique platform for the exchange of views that will help develop a unified information strategy in the SCO.

According to the president, in Kyrgyzstan "freedom of speech and journalistic independence became traditions promoted by society a long time ago."

Mass media are a reliable mediator in the dialogue between the Kyrgyz public and authorities, Jeenbekov added.

The SCO is an international intergovernmental organization consisting of eight member states: India, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Kyrgyzstan assumed the chairmanship in the SCO in 2019 and has already hosted the 2nd SCO Women's Forum.