OANA final communiqué stresses strengthening media cooperation

Tehran, IRNA – Members of the Organization of Asia-Pacific News Agencies (OANA) in the final communiqué of their meeting in Tehran on Tuesday evening emphasized the need to use new ways to develop media cooperation plus using new technologies to respond to the needs of the audience. The 18th Organization of Asia-Pacific News Agencies General Assembly started on Monday in Tehran and the closing ceremony of the meeting was held on Tuesday afternoon. The final statement of the 18th General Assembly of the OANA is as follows: A. While the COVID-19 pandemic imposed some limitations on how news stories were covered and published traditionally, media organizations have devised new strategies and employed modern technologies in order to appropriately respond to the needs of their audience. Member agencies will continue sharing experiences in the framework of OANA to keep up with the new conditions and developments. B. OANA member agencies reaffirm their commitment to the statutes of the organization and to the fulfillment of its objectives through the decisions that are made and will be made by both in-person meetings and virtual contacts. C. OANA members will promote cooperation among news agencies in order to fight fake news and enhance credibility of reports and news products. D. Recognizing their audience's right of access to accurate information, OANA members reaffirm that they will not allow political considerations negatively to influence their professional duty to report realities. E. OANA member agencies will work together to promote the normal activities of news agencies and try to overcome any obstacles that can adversely affect cooperation among media agencies F. Recognizing international norms such as national sovereignty and territorial integrity of countries, member agencies emphasize that professional media are not expected to threaten national sovereignty of independent states around the world. The OANA was established to facilitate information dissemination among regional countries with the support of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). IRNA, Fars, and Mehr are the three news agencies in Iran representing the Islamic country in the OANA. IRNA is one of the first members of the organization, and presided over it between 1997 to 2000; then, the Iranian news agency acted as the vice chairman of the regional organization in 2016, and now IRNA is a member of the executive committee of OANA. Follow us on Twitter @IrnaEnglish