Baku, March 1, AZERTAC

“Reciprocal visits contribute to the development of relations between national news agencies,” said Director General of Azerbaijan State Information Agency AZERTAC Aslan Aslanov as he met Director General of KAZINFORM agency of Kazakhstan Dauren Diyarov, Director General of BelTA agency of Belarus Dmitry Zhuk, Director General of the national news agency of Romania (AGERPRES) Alexandru Giboi and Editor-in-Chief of the agency Gabriela Ionescu, who are in Baku to attend a celebrative event marking AZERTAC`s 95th anniversary.

Mr. Aslanov provided an insight into AZERTAC`s history and achievements, particularly foreign relations.

He said Baku will host a meeting of the News Agencies World Council on March 2. “In 2016, we will host the 16th General Assembly of the Organization of Asia Pacific News Agencies (OANA) and the 5th News Agencies World Congress. AZERTAC will chair these two organizations for three years until 2019.”

Dauren Diyarov said he was happy to visit Baku and join celebration of AZERTAC`s 95th jubilee. He noted the importance of developing relations among news agencies. “KAZINFORM attaches particular emphasis to its relationship with AZERTAC,” he said. “I have read my friend Aslan Aslanov`s recent article headlined ‘AZERTAC: a bridge between the East and West’. I`m very happy for the achievements of my Azerbaijani colleague.”

Mr Giboi hailed development processes in Azerbaijan. He said AGERPRES will sign a cooperation deal with AZERTAC on the sidelines of the celebrative event, expressing confidence it will contribute to the development of the bilateral relations.

Mr Zhuk and Ms Ionescu emphasized the role of reciprocal visits in terms of enhancing ties between news agencies.