OSCE organizes study visit of Kyrgyz officials to Latvia to learn about best practices in anti-corruption

A four-day visit of eight Kyrgyz officials to Riga, Latvia, aimed at learning international best practices on combatting corruption, ended on 11 April 2014.

Two Defense Council officers and six representatives of the State Committee on National Security of Kyrgyzstan learnt about the work of the Latvian corruption prevention and combatting bureaus. During the joint sessions, participants discussed effective methods for combatting the shadow economy, implementing judicial reform and analyzing legislation. They also attended seminars on methods of detecting corrupt conduct and promoting anti-corruption measures through media communication.

“Initiatives like this exemplify the OSCE’s enduring commitment to support Kyrgyzstan’s efforts in combatting corruption,” said Yulia Minaeva, Head of the Economic and Environmental Dimension Section at the OSCE Centre in Bishkek. “Learning from international best practices in combatting corruption promotes transparency and accountability, and directly contributes to building effective working routines within the state system.”

This study visit follows a tour in February 2014 of seven Kyrgyz officials to South Korea who underwent training and shared experiences on tackling corruption.

It also follows an OSCE-organized seminar on preventing corruption and a workshop on asset declaration and preventing of conflict of interest. These events were held in Jurmala, Latvia on 26-28 June 2013, and were jointly organized by the OSCE and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

In line with its anti-corruption initiatives, in March 2014, the OSCE Centre in Bishkek signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Kyrgyzstan’s government to launch a major regulatory reform aimed at streamlining and simplifying the legal framework regulating private economic activity.