On June 20, 2019, Russian State Duma hosted a round-table discussion titled Development of Information and Communication Cooperation in the CSTO Space

On June 20, 2019, Russian State Duma hosted a round-table discussion titled Development of Information and Communication Cooperation in the CSTO Space.
The event was organized at the initiative of the Secretariat of the Collective Security Treaty Organization and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation in accordance with instructions from Vyacheslav VOLODIN, Chairman of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation and Chairman of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Collective Security Treaty Organization.
The round table was chaired by CSTO Acting Secretary General Valery SEMERIKOV and Chairman of the Committee on the Affairs of the Commonwealth of Independent States and Relations with Compatriots Leonid KALASHNIKOV. Participants included representatives of specialist committees of the State Duma and the Federation Council, the CSTO PA Secretariat, the Presidential Administration and the Executive Office of the Government, ministries and agencies of the Russian Federation, as well as CSTO-authorized social media and organizations uniting Internet communities, analysts, experts, public figures and members of the media.
In his speech, CSTO Acting Secretary General Valery SEMERIKOV emphasized that today the development of information and communication technologies is under close attention, and a number of organizational and practical measures are being taken to address the existing issues in this area and to develop coordinated approaches and common strategies to improve the protection mechanisms of information space.
Both the speeches made and the opinions exchanged during the discussion not only stressed the importance and urgency of the issues under consideration, but also formulated constructive proposals for their implementation.
For instance, Anatoly VYBORNY, Chairman of the CSTO PA Standing Committee on Defence and Security and a member of the State Duma Committee on Security and Corruption Control, proposed to consider an idea of a single CSTO Internet space.
Andrei KARTAPOLOV, Russian deputy Minister of Defence, has offered CSTO States to create a coordinated policy for the development of joint potential for counteracting information threats on account of increasing threats to information safety.
Sergei POSPELOV, CSTO Acting Executive Secretary, also attended the event and presented to the participants the work carried out by the CSTO Parliamentary Assembly to improve the legal framework for counteracting challenges and threats in the information sphere.
Recommendations of the round table discussion will be sent to the relevant ministries and agencies of the Russian Federation to prepare specific proposals for their improvement and practical application.
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