OANA meeting starts in Tehran

Tehran, Sept 3, IRNA - The 43rd Executive Board Meeting of the Organization of Asia-Pacific News Agencies (OANA) officially kicked off in the Iranian capital on Monday. Zia Hashemi, Managing Director of the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) is expected to deliver the inaugural speech at the event participated by the heads of 18 news agencies as well as representatives and media people from the region. Iran's Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Abbas Salehi will be the next to address the OANA meeting and the third speaker will be OANA President Aslan Aslanov. OANA was founded in 1961 with the goal of facilitating information dissemination in the region, supported by the United Nations cultural entity, the UNESCO. The organization covering two thirds of the world population has now 44 members from 35 countries of Asia and Oceania. Iran, as a long-standing member, was the rotating president in 1997-2000. The period was followed by a term of vice-presidency until 2016. The country is now a member of OANA executive board. At the Tehran meeting on Monday, South Korea is expected to assume the rotating presidency for the coming three years. Follow us on Twitter @IrnaEnglish