On 30 January 2020, the official opening ceremony of the new meeting room in the office of the Plenipotentiary Representative of the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic in Batken province was held. The meeting room was equipped for holding coordination meetings, including online meetings, on security, public administration, civil protection, water management, etc. In total, the United Nations Development Program provided office equipment and furniture for a total amount of 1,232,294 KGS with financial support of the UN Peacebuilding Fund and the Trust Fund of the Russian Federation.

The official event was attended by the representatives of the Plenipotentiary Representative of the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic in Batken province, representatives of the regional structures, local self-government, as well as representatives of the UNDP in the Kyrgyz Republic.

Regional development and digitalization has been a key focus in Kyrgyzstan over the past two years. In his appeals, President Zheenbekov repeatedly emphasized the need to develop digital models for remote areas of the country to increase access to high-quality state and municipal services. The indicated directions remain the priorities of the state policy in the current year as well.

“The development of regions is the most important task for the country, since the economic and social stability of the regions gives stability to the country as a whole, and the economic ties of the regions make it possible to link together the entire economy of the country. It is necessary to ensure the most effective, reliable and inexpensive connection of the country with global networks and data transmission lines,” said the President of the Kyrgyz Republic, Mr.Zheenbekov.

In her welcoming speech, the Deputy Plenipotentiary Representative of the Government in Batken province on social issues Ms.Sattarova C. emphasized the importance of the provided equipment while working with the public, local authorities and other state institutions. “We conduct events of various formats every day to solve wide range of tasks. The equipment of this meeting room creates opportunities for organizing operational meetings, and this in turn means timely decision-making and reduction of costs and time for travel. ”- said Sattarova C.

The equipment was provided in the framework of the UN Development Programme project "Strengthening climate resilience of Batken province through the introduction of “climate-smart” irrigation and mudflow protection systems", funded by the Trust Fund of the Russian Federation and the project "Cross-border cooperation to achieve sustainable peace and development", funded by the UN Peacebuilding Fund.