Iran’s IRNA To Head OANA For Next Three Years

By D. Arul Rajoo TEHRAN, Oct 26 (Bernama) -- Iran's Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) will head the Organisation of Asia-Pacific News Agencies (OANA) for the next three years. The selection of IRNA to lead OANA was endorsed at the 18th general assembly, held here Tuesday. The assembly also picked Russia's TASS news agency to host the 19th general assembly in Moscow in 2025. Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama) were among the 13 members elected to sit on the executive board. The assembly, held every three years, also adopted a six-point Declaration of Tehran, which, among others, calls on members to devise new strategies in the wake of challenges faced during the COVID-19 pandemic. They also agreed to promote cooperation in order to fight fake news and enhance the credibility of reports and news products. During the assembly, which started Monday, delegates met and held talks with Iranian President Ebrahim Raeisi in his office on Tuesday, as well Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian. They also visited the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran (AEOI). This year's OANA meeting worked under the theme of New Challenges for Journalism: Technological Innovations and Issues of Trust. The organisation, which covers two-thirds of the world's population, now has 43 members from 35 countries in Asia and Oceania. Among the news agencies attending the general assembly here are the BERNAMA, Xinhua (China), Kyodo (Japan), ANTARA (Indonesia), TASS and Sputnik (Russia), PNA (Philippines), Oman News Agency (ONA), Vietnam News Agency, and Bakhtar News Agency (Afghanistan). -- BERNAMA