OANA XIX General Assembly

Minutes of the XIX OANA General Assembly in St. Petersburg, Russia (20/07/2025)
Participants (in alphabetic order):
AA (Türkiye), ANTARA (Indonesia), APP (Pakistan), AZERTAC (Azerbaijan), BERNAMA (Malaysia), BNA (Bahrain), Kyodo News (Japan), Kabar (Kyrgyzstan), KCNA (Democratic People's Republic of Korea), ONA (Oman), QNA (Qatar), TASS (Russia), Trend News Agency (Azerbaijan), TRC (Republic of Kazakhstan), Rossiya Segodnya (Russia), SANA (Syrian Arab Republic), VNA (Vietnam), Xinhua (China), PNA (Philippines), JIJI Press (Japan), Yonhap (Republic of Korea).
Absentees:
ANI (India), Bakhtar News Agency (Afghanistan), BSS (Bangladesh), Fars News Agency (Iran), PPI (Pakistan), PTI (India), UNB (Bangladesh), IRNA (Iran), KUNA (Kuwait), KPL (Laos), Lankapuvath (Sri Lanka), MNA (Iran), MONTSAME (Mongolia), NINA (Iraq), NNA (Lebanon), RSS (Nepal), SABA (Yemen), SPA (Saudi Arabia), TNA, MCOT (Thailand), WAM (UAE).
Moderators:
Mr. Gusman - the First Deputy Director General of TASS
Mr. Shahbalaуev - Head of Global Communications and Information Department of AZERTAC

First Deputy Director General of TASS, Mr. Gusman, opened the meeting by acknowledging IRNA's contributions: "IRNA has conducted tremendous work over these years to strengthen our Organization."

The report (IRNA) covering the 2022-2025 term was presented to the members. The report was accepted with gratitude. Participants agreed that any follow-up questions would be addressed to the incoming Executive Board.
Mr. Hossein Ansari (IRNA) delivered a video address: Mr. Ansari emphasized adapting to rapid global changes and combating disinformation through collective efforts, while thanking TASS for hosting the upcoming General Assembly in Russia. The participants warmly thanked Mr. Ansari with loud applause.
Election of OANA Presidency for 2025-2028:

Mr. Mikhail Gusman, First Deputy Director General of TASS, presided over the elections. Noting the established tradition where the General Assembly host agency assumes chairmanship, Mr. Mikhail Gusman called for a vote: "I propose TASS as OANA Chair for 2025-2028. Those in favor?"
No other candidates were nominated.
Decision: Unanimously approved.
Following TASS's election as President Agency in the OANA, the Agency nominated its Director General Mr. Andrey Kondrashov as OANA President.
No other candidates were nominated.
Voting result: Unanimously approved.
Mr. Shahbalaуev (AZERTAC) has nominated Mr. Mikhail Gusman as Secretary General.
No other candidates were nominated.
Decision: Unanimously approved.
Election for the next, the XX OANA General Assembly:
To date, AZERTAC (Azerbaijan) remains the only agency to have formally declared its candidacy to host the upcoming General Assembly.
No other candidates were nominated.
Decision: Unanimously approved.
The following 12 agencies were nominated for the Executive Board:
TASS (as current President of OANA), IRNA (as previous President of OANA), Anadolu, ANTARA, AZERTAC, BERNAMA, BNA, Kyodo, QNA, VNA, Xinhua, Yonhap.
No other candidates were nominated.
The full slate was confirmed by unanimous vote.
IRNA, Mr. Ansari, automatically assumed Vice Presidency per OANA Statute. 

Additional nominees: Anadolu, Mr Serdar Karagöz; AZERTAC, Mr Vugar Aliyev; Xinhua, Mr Fu Hua; Yonhap, Mr Hwang Dae-il. All candidates were elected unanimously, establishing five Vice Presidents.
No other candidates were nominated.
With no other volunteer agency for membership during the meeting, Oman News Agency (ONA) was elected as member of Technical Committee. ONA is mandated to appoint up to 8 additional committee members.
Similarly, with no other expressions of interest from participants, Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) was elected as Chair of Ethics Committee. APP is mandated to appoint two additional committee members.
OANA Secretary General Mr. Mikhail Gusman announced that Executive Board meetings in 2026 are tentatively scheduled with host agencies: VNA, QNA, AA, following preliminary discussions with these agencies. However, as no agency has expressed willingness to host the late-2025 meeting, this matter will be resolved through working-level consultations.
OANA President Mr. Andrey Kondrashov (TASS) gave an appreciation speech. He thanked all participants for their engagement in the General Assembly and proposed the establishment of a Working Group to consolidate OANA members' factchecking methodologies and best practices.
The newly formed 56th Executive Board Meeting was held in the framework of the General Assembly session.