The 42nd Conference of the Federation of Arab News Agencies (FANA) General Assembly kicked off in Manama today in the presence of directors and presidents of Arab news agencies.
The event, held at the InterContinental Regency Bahrain hotel, will shed light on issues of paramount importance pertaining to the media field, President of Saudi Press Agency and FANA Abdullah bin Fahad Al Hussain has revealed.
He thanked Acting Director General of Bahrain News Agency (BNA) Mohannad Suleiman Al Nuaimi for the warm welcome and hospitality and for paving the way for the conference to convene. He also lauded the key role of the federation's Secretary General and his assistants in preparing for the event.
He praised the outcome of the plenary discussion session held yesterday under the theme "News Agencies-Ethics and Competence" which was attended by State Minister for Information Affairs and the Government's Official Spokesperson Sameera Ibrahim bin Rajab.
He underlined the need for news agencies to remain the main producer of news in covering fast-paced regional developments transparently and professionally. He lauded FANA achievements in boosting cooperation between the Arab news agencies, wishing the conference every success.
The BNA Acting Director General said the meeting is of tremendous importance due to the challenges posed to the media sector in the Arab World, in general, and the news agencies, in particular. He welcomes the directors and presidents of the Arab news agencies taking part in the conference who represent 15 countries of 18 member states in FANA.
He asserted Bahrain's keenness to host the conference, pointing out the kingdom's organisation of its 40th edition two years ago. He added a few months ago Bahrain also hosted a joint meeting between FANA Secretariat General and the Organization of Asia-Pacific News Agencies (OANA) Executive Council.
He also praised success of Bahrain's parliamentary and municipal elections and the kingdom's progress on the path of democracy under the leadership of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.
He emphasised the need to exchange visions regarding current media challenges so as to formulate a unified stance and work out appropriate solutions for them.