OANA pivotal in reflecting realities of independent states: IRNA chief

Tehran, IRNA - The Organization of Asia-Pacific News Agency (OANA) can play a key role in reflecting the realities of independent countries, the managing director of the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) emphasized. Ali Naderi made the remarks in a meeting with deputy managing director of the Azerbaijan State News Agency (Azertac) Vugar Seyidov and Editor-in-Chief of Azerbaijan's Trend News Agency Emin Aliyev on the sidelines of the 18th General Assembly of OANA in Tehran on Tuesday. Naderi expressed hope that the two-day assembly will boost cooperation among the member states and pave the way for the OANA to play a more active role in future media developments. Appreciating Azertac's cooperation with IRNA, when the Azerbaijani news agency presided over the OANA, he called for expansion of collaborations between the two news agencies, as well as both countries. The IRNA chief also announced that the news agency plans to set up an office in Baku, Azerbaijan Republic, in order to improve coordination and cooperation with the amicable country. Vugar Seyidov, for his part, said that the relationship between IRNA and Azertac has been very good for a long period, noting that Azerbaijan Republic is not a foreign country for the Iranian people and that Baku is Iranians' home. Emin Aliyev expressed hope that the OANA general assembly would lead to strengthening of media cooperation among member states, in particular in the economic field. IRNA hosted the 18th General Assembly of the Organization of Asia-Pacific News Agencies (OANA), which kicked off in the capital Tehran on October 24. In the two-day assembly, around 60 senior directors, managers, and editors from 35 OANA member states discussed various topics, including the development and strengthening of media cooperation. IRNA along with Fars and Mehr news agencies are the three media agencies in Iran representing the Islamic country in the OANA. At the end of the 18th General Assembly of the OANA in Tehran, a final declaration was issued by the members on Tuesday. Follow us on Twitter @IrnaEnglish