Information Minister stresses GCC media significance

Manama, Jan. 29 (BNA): Information Minister Ali bin Mohammed Al Romaihi stressed the importance of boosting cooperation between the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) media to promote their essential role in disclosing the truth, highlighting the development and civilizational achievements of the GCC countries and confronting collectively the security threats, fallacies and defamatory campaigns in the foreign media. The minister was speaking as he received Secretary General of the Gulf Press Union (GPU) Isa Al Shaiji, the Editor-in-Chief of Bahraini Al-Ayam newspaper, and member of the Secretariat General Yusef Al-Binkhalil, the Editor-in-Chief of Bahraini Al-Watan newspaper. Present at the meeting was also GPU Executive Director Farid Ahmed Hassan. The minister discussed ways of bolstering cooperation between the Information Ministry and GPU, stressing that the current challenges targeting security, stability and development of the GCC countries require the GCC media to deal with them professionally by raising awareness and disclosing news and information accurately and objectively. He also underlined the role of the GCC media in protecting the national and GCC identity, renouncing division and sectarianism, shunning violence and terrorism and denouncing foreign interference in the internal affairs of the GCC countries. Al Romaihi pointed out Bahrain’s unwavering keenness to support GPU and promote its role in unifying the GCC press institutions, boost cooperation among them and hold training programmes to improve professional performance and effectiveness. He also urged openness on regional and international press institutions and federations to inform the international public opinion about the GCC accomplishments in the fields of democracy, inter-cultural dialogue and fighting extremism and terrorism. The GPU officials thanked the Information Minister for his support to the union’s activities and patronage of its 6th general conference.