KUNA chief in Doha to partake in FANA annual meeting

Chairman and Director General of Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) Sheikh Mubarak Duaij Al-Ibrahim Al-Sabah arrived here late on Sunday to participate in the 39th general assembly of the Federation of Arab News Agencies (FANA) annual meeting. Sheikh Mubarak, also Deputy Chairman of FANA, was received by Qatar News Agency Director General Ahmad Al-Buainein, FANA Secretary General Farid Ayyar and Kuwaiti Ambassador to Qatar Ali Salman Al-Haifi. Upon his arrival, Sheikh Mubarak told KUNA that FANA meeting will focus on bolstering pan-Arab media cooperation, particularly with following the recent political upheavals. He pointed that the Arab news agencies have proved success in coping with these developments. "Official new agencies are of the most important sources of credible and accurate news," he added. Activities of the 39th conference of FANA general assembly are due to kick off in Doha Monday and runs for three days. Some 15 Arab news agencies, out 19 members, will be attending the meeting. Participants are to discuss several reports and studies worked out by Arab and foreign media experts on how best to upgrade news agencies and their future in the 21st century and the state of the art technological developments in media work. FANA's activities in 2011 will be reviewed in the conference. The conferees will discuss launching an award for the best report and the best photo. They will thoroughly mull how to upgrade the FANA economic sources, its financial and organizational affairs. The conferees will also take up the issue of the admission of the Cooperation Council for the Arab states (GCC) as an observer in meetings of the FANA General Assembly as well as discussing a report dealing with media ethics and human dignity presented by President of the Organization of Asia-pacific News Agencies (OANA).