OSCE programmatic activities in Kyrgyzstan’s south are enhanced

The OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek, led by Head of Office Pierre von Arx, visited the southern provinces of Kyrgyzstan, Osh, Jalal-Abad and Batken from 12 to 18 May 2019 to follow up on and plan programmatic activities with local authorities, implementing partners and civil society.

The visit included meetings with representatives of the Plenipotentiary Representation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kyrgyzstan in Osh, Jalal-Abad and Batken provinces. Its Deputy Head, Kaldarali Mamataliev, congratulated the OSCE for its 20-year presence in Kyrgyzstan.

The OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek’s programmatic activities, especially in the field of economic development and digitalization, community policing, as well as preventing and countering violent extremism and radicalization that lead to terrorism (VERLT), were highly welcomed by local authorities in all three provinces.

The OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek was able to visit a number of projects it supports, amongst them the opening of Entrepreneurship Support Centres (ESCs) in both Jalal-Abad and Batken cities. The ESC in Osh had been opened in 2018 and had provided 500 business consultation services since, most of which were aimed at women and former migrants. Further to this, the OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek had the opportunity to meet with local police departments and discuss and view Mobile Police Reception (MPR) vehicles which the Programme Office supports.

In line with the “Year of the Regions and Digitalization”, the OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek also used the opportunity to discuss digitalization initiatives with counterparts, specifically to increasingly facilitate interagency electronic connectivity, aiming to reduce the use of paper and reduce risks of exposure to corruption for citizens.

Besides meeting with provincial heads and mayors of southern provinces and cities, the OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek also met with civil society representatives, namely the Woman Initiative Group in Osh, as well as a number of implementing partners working in the field of judicial reform and human rights.

The visit gave an important impulse for planning and prioritizing programmatic activities in 2019 and 2020.