DUSHANBE, March 27, 2009, Asia-Plus  – On Friday March 27, the OSCE Office in Tajikistan handed over high-quality conference equipment to a press center run by the non-governmental organization “Information and Dialogue,” enabling the center to hold press conferences and other media events in three languages.

According to press release issued by the OSCE Office, the donation of the interpreting and presentation equipment as well as of an air-conditioning system complements efforts by the Tajik Foreign Ministry, the United Nations Tajikistan Office of Peace-Building, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency and the UNDP to make the Republican Press Center a full-service press center.

“Of course, modern technical facilities alone cannot achieve this.  The OSCE is ready to support further capacity-building so that the new equipment can help promote the free flow of information as much as possible,” said Ambassador Vladimir Pryakhin, the Head of the OSCE Office.

The OSCE Office and the Office of the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media have in the past  organized  seminars at which government spokesmen and women, journalists and international experts exchanged views and learned from each other.

“Thanks to the OSCE, the Republican Press Centre now has an increased capacity that, without doubt, will lift the level of provided services and attract many media professionals,” said Davlat Nazriyev, head of the MFA information department.

Good communication between officials and the media recently became even more relevant because of a presidential decree that obliges officials to react to criticism in the media.

The Republican Press Center was founded in 2007 as central platform for information exchange and as a service centre for the media.