Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- A round-table discussion was held at the Poytakht metropolitan business center to discuss the draft Law on Introducing amendments and additions to the Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan on mass media, Dunyo news agency reported.

Its organizer was the Agency of Information and Mass Communications under the Administration of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

The event was attended by representatives of the Legislative Chamber and Senate of the Oliy Majlis, the Ministry of Justice of Uzbekistan, international and foreign organizations, as well as journalists from domestic media.

It was spoken about the development of an independent press and freedom of speech in our country, the increasing role of public control. It was noted that in order to strengthen guarantees for access to information, it is necessary to regularly improve the regulatory framework in proportion to the pace of development of the information industry.

In this regard, the Agency of Information and Mass Communications under the Administration of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan was instructed to develop a draft Law "On Amendments and Additions to the Law" On Mass Media ".

In 2018, the necessary Law and Mass Media were amended and supplemented. Over the past two years, a truly new era has begun in this area, in connection with which the needs and requirements of the participants in the information space have increased significantly, and relations with government agencies and the media are formed on the basis of the principle of transparency.

Speaking at the meeting, UN Resident Coordinator in Uzbekistan, Helena Fraser, noted that freedom of speech is a special part of the world of justice of human rights.

- The President of the country at a solemn meeting dedicated to Constitution Day, noted that the media, bloggers play a key role in shaping public opinion and in the implementation of large-scale reforms in Uzbekistan. The rights of journalists and bloggers to express themselves play a key role in ensuring the success of the reforms, said H. Fraser. - Over the past three years, freedom of speech has significantly improved in the republic. Glad to see the activity of journalists. The UN is ready to help Uzbekistan in ensuring compliance of the adopted laws with international standards.

In an interview with the Dunyo news agency, the head of the AIMK information policy department, Bohir Toshkhujayev, noted that as part of improving the legislation, the experience of countries with high media activity, in particular, the Czech Republic, Italy, and Iceland, was studied.

“We also developed a new project taking into account the proposals of local media and foreign partners in this area,” he emphasized. - For example, the new law introduces certain rules that will allow representatives of the media to participate in open court hearings, as well as receive free information on the activities of the courts. The procedure for participation of media representatives in open court hearings can be approved by a decision of the plenum of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Uzbekistan.