Amman, Sept. 2 (Petra) -- The General Secretariat of the Federation of Arab News Agencies (FANA) held a meeting in Amman on Wednesday, hosted by the Jordan News Agency (Petra), with directors and representatives from the Saudi Press Agency (SPA), Kuwait News Agency (KUNA), Oman News Agency (ONA), and Maghreb Arabe Presse (MAP), alongside the federation's General Secretariat.

The meeting aimed to launch a new phase of joint Arab media work, strengthening cooperation in content sharing, adopting modern technologies and developing journalistic skills.

Participants sought to establish a comprehensive strategic framework to raise the efficiency of news coverage and enrich regional and international media discourse, to build sustainable media partnerships that keep pace with the modern media sector and reinforce standards of accuracy and objectivity.

KUNA Acting Director General Mohammed Al-Mannai expressed appreciation for Petra's hosting of the meeting and for FANA's members, noting that the agenda was packed with topics and proposals capable of advancing FANA's goals and developing joint Arab media work.

Al-Mannai stressed the importance of strengthening cooperation and coordination among Arab news agencies to develop joint media work and improve professional performance, underscoring the need to keep pace with rapid developments in the media and communications sector.

He said FANA represents an important platform for exchanging expertise among member agencies and enhancing cooperation across media fields, serving common interests and supporting Arab news agencies as trusted sources of information.

FANA Secretary-General Farid Ayar said FANA has succeeded in recent years in expanding its network of cooperation and professional relationships. He said the FANA places great importance on developing human resources at Arab news agencies through specialized training programs targeting journalistic and technical staff, helping raise efficiency and keep pace with rapid changes in the media industry.

Ayar said the coming phase requires greater support for Arab agencies and a stronger presence in the news distribution and publishing system, enabling them to continue providing accurate and reliable information to media outlets.

Participants discussed several topics, chief among them the Secretariat's report on the state of the FANA for 2025-2026, and a draft roadmap for 2026-2030 that includes transforming the FANA's website into a sustainable media platform and developing its training institute into a regional and international hub for training journalists in the Middle East and Asia.

Attendees also discussed media projects and initiatives under the FANA Media Quality Award, including a Saudi photo platform project submitted by SPA and a proposal for a joint electronic training platform submitted by the Qatar News Agency (QNA), in addition to considering a unified Arab protocol for covering terrorism-related news and a project to issue a guide on editorial standards in foreign languages.

//Petra// NQ