Shanghai Cooperation media forum kicks off in Bishkek

By Elena Teslova

BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan (AA) - The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) media forum opened in the Kyrgyz capital of Bishkek on Friday.

Greeting the participants of the forum, Kyrgyz President Sooronbay Jeenbekov stressed the importance of information technology and mass media in shaping public opinion.

"Media diplomacy plays an important role. The effectiveness SCO largely depends on your [journalists] approaches to covering events.

"After all, journalists are the providers of all the ideas, initiatives and programs that are currently being implemented within the SCO," the president said.

Jeenbekov drew attention to the urgency of strengthening measures to ensure information security in the SCO countries.

The SCO is a Eurasian political, economic, and security organization established in 2001, originally including Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

In 2017, India and Pakistan were also granted a member status in the organization.