DUSHANBE, April 5, Asia-Plus  - Presentation of a new public association (PA) Ittiloot va Muoshirat (Information and Communication), which is successor of the Republican Press Center that had worked under patronage of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the UN Tajikistan Office of Peace-Building (UNTOP), was held in Dushanbe on April 4.    

The presentation ceremony was attended by senior representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, President’s Executive Office and the Academy of Sciences, as well as representatives from SIDA (Sweden’s International Development Agency) and the OSCE Center in Dushanbe.  

Speaking at the presentation ceremony, the MFA information department head Davlat Nazriyev said that the republican Press Center that had worked for a year had shown “its vital capacity,” and the MFA has decided to continue this project and “it was necessary to set up a non-governmental organization for this.”  The idea has been supported by SIDA and the Frederick Ebert Foundation, the MFA spokesman said. 

The Ittiloot va Muoshirat director Parviz Qosimov noted that the public association was registered with the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) on February 14 this year.   “We hope that the association will become a place for meetings and communication of journalists,” Qosimov said.

According to him, Ittiloot va Muoshirat plans to conduct seminars for students and schoolchildren and launch informational-entertaining magazine for children in the future.  

Underlining the importance of communication among journalists, he offered to establish a chess club at the association.  According to him, they are currently negotiating that issue with the Chinese Embassy in Dushanbe, which has promised to help equip the club.  “In the future, the Chess Club could be reorganized into the Journalists’ House,” Qosimov said.  

Ms. Maria Melbing (phonetically spelled), Second Secretary, Swedish Embassy in Dusahnbe also SIDA Program Officer, noted that the new public association could become a platform of its kind for expressing different ideas.  

Speaking at the presentation ceremony, Michael Unland, Media Officer at the OSCE Center, said that the OSCE Center could provide assistance in tackling some technical problems.  He added that the new association would be able to help the government hold quarterly press conferences.