Jeddah (UNA) – Advisor to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, Emir of Makkah Region Prince Khalid Al-Faisal, and President of the Republic of Tatarstan Rustam Minkhanov witnessed today, Wednesday, the signing ceremony of a memorandum of cooperation between the Union of News Agencies of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (UNA) and the Russian Sputnik News Agency and Radio, on the sidelines of the meeting of the Strategic Vision Group of Russia and the Islamic World, held in Jeddah. The agreement was signed on behalf of the Union by Acting Director General Mohammed bin Abdulrabah Al-Yami, while it was signed on behalf of Sputnik by Director of International Cooperation at the Agency Vasily Pushkov. The memorandum aims to enhance cooperation between UNA and Sputnik in the field of joint media work, news exchange, and the advancement of the media industry in Islamic countries, in addition to coordination between the two parties in providing training programs and media consultations. Al-Yami stressed that the memorandum will contribute to strengthening the media presence of the news content of news agencies of Islamic countries in Russian media, given the wide spread of Sputnik Agency. It will also work to support journalistic publishing on topics of common interest, such as promoting dialogue between religions and cultures, and confronting trends of hatred and extremism. Al-Yami expressed his gratitude to the Strategic Vision Group Russia and the Islamic World for coordinating the meetings between UNA and Sputnik. He also expressed his thanks to the Permanent Mission of Russia to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and for the efforts made by the Russian representative to the organization, Ramazan Abdulatipov, in facilitating the signing of this memorandum. In turn, Vasily Pushkov stressed the great importance of the UNA Union as an international organization that brings together about 57 official news agencies in Islamic countries, noting that the memorandum signed today will allow Sputnik direct access to these agencies and thus diversify its news sources and support its media coverage of news of the Islamic world, which is of constant interest to Sputnik and its various news platforms. It is worth noting that the signing of the agreement was also witnessed by Saudi Deputy Foreign Minister Walid bin Abdul Karim Al-Khuraiji, Deputy Chairman of the International Affairs Committee of the Russian Federation Council and Deputy Chairman of the Strategic Vision Group Farit Mukhametshin, Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council Nayef bin Falah Al-Hajraf, Assistant Secretary General of the Muslim World League Abdulrahman bin Abdullah Al-Zaid, Advisor to the Secretary General of the League of Arab States Ahmed Khattabi, First Deputy Chairman of the Committee on Science, Education and Culture of the Russian Federation Council and Chairman of the Hajj Rituals Organization Committee Ilyas Umakhanov, and a number of officials, scholars and diplomats. (End)
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