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The 26th session of the Executive Council of the Union of News Agencies of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC)

Jeddah (UNA) - The Executive Council of the Union of News Agencies of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (UNA) held its twenty-sixth session today, Thursday (January 23, 2025), under the chairmanship of the Acting Chairman of the Executive Council, Chairman of the General Assembly and President of the Saudi Press Agency, His Excellency Mr. Ali bin Abdullah Al-Zaid, and in the presence of His Excellency the Secretary-General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Hussein Ibrahim Taha, and the participation of the Council members.

At the beginning of the meeting, which was held online, Professor Ali bin Abdullah Al-Zaid stressed that media work is undergoing major transformations, noting that keeping pace with these transformations requires a profound change in the nature and models of business. Here comes the role of regional and international federations, such as the “UNA” Federation, to mobilize efforts to bring about shifts that keep pace with such changes.

Al-Zaid stressed the need for the union itself to keep pace with global changes in the media space, by working on programs and paths to digitize and inject all production lines with the latest that media content production processes can reach.

Al-Zaid stressed the keenness of the Saudi Press Agency, through its presidency of the General Assembly of the Federation, to support the Federation in this direction, noting that the agency has taken upon itself to encourage, attract and support all projects that would develop media content, enhance digitization, and enhance the process of creativity in media production lines.

Al-Zaid expressed his sincere thanks and gratitude to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, and the Crown Prince, His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Prime Minister, may God protect them, for the support that the Union has received from the host country, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, over the past years, whether in terms of direct financial support, or in terms of support through follow-up, assistance and empowerment.

He explained that this support enabled the union not only to survive and continue its work, but also to raise the ceiling of our ambitions to the point where we request more ideas to transform them into new programs and work paths that enhance the most important goals of the union, which is for Islamic media content to always be at the forefront of the scene.

Al-Zaid also extended his sincere thanks to His Excellency the Minister of Media, Mr. Salman bin Yousef Al-Dosari, for his unlimited support and continuous follow-up of the role of the Saudi Press Agency in supporting the Federation, and supporting the Federation itself through the Executive Council.

For his part, His Excellency the Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Hussein Ibrahim Taha, stressed that the organization highly appreciates the development of work and the tangible success achieved by the Union in the past few years.

The Secretary-General welcomed the media projects undertaken by the Union to support the media work of the Organization, enhance the Organization’s media visibility and permanent presence at various events, and develop the infrastructure of the news agencies of the Organization’s member states, which are in dire need of this.

The Secretary-General also expressed his appreciation for the purposeful media partnerships that the Union has established over the past period, and the resulting memoranda of understanding with a number of local and international institutions.

In turn, the General Supervisor of Official Media in the State of Palestine, His Excellency Minister Ahmed Assaf, noted the significant development witnessed by the Union under the current administration, appreciating the role of the Union in supporting the Palestinian cause, specifically in light of the Israeli targeting of the Palestinian people in general and the Palestinian media in particular.

Assaf stressed that the Union provided a global platform for the Palestinian cause, referring in particular to the international forum “The Media and Its Role in Fueling Hatred and Violence: The Dangers of Misinformation and Bias,” which was held with the attendance of representatives from all continents of the world, and one of its main topics was to discuss the crimes that the Palestinian people are being subjected to, specifically the Palestinian media.

In his speech, the Director General of the Union, His Excellency Mr. Mohammed bin Abdul Rabbo Al-Yami, stressed the importance of this meeting, which seeks to enhance the role of the Union in facing these challenges and achieving the aspirations of member states in the media field, which is an indispensable element in approaching and dealing with common issues.

Al-Yami stressed that the Federation was able, thanks to God first, and then thanks to the great support from the member states, to overcome the financial crisis that hindered many of its activities during the past years, and to enter the financial recovery phase, noting, in this regard, what the host country, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, provided in financial support to the Federation of more than 3 million US dollars, which the Federation used to pay off its debts.

Al-Yami stressed that this support comes within the framework of the Kingdom’s keenness, under the leadership of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, and His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, to advance joint Islamic action institutions to enable them to serve the Islamic world at various political, economic, social and media levels.

Al-Yami also expressed his sincere gratitude to the State of Qatar, which has graciously paid all its due contributions from 2009 to 2020, in addition to paying its contribution to the 2021 budget. In the same context, he expressed his thanks to the countries that regularly pay their contributions, most notably the United Arab Emirates, the Sultanate of Oman, and the countries that have recently taken the initiative to pay their contributions, namely the Kingdom of Bahrain, Libya, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the Arab Republic of Egypt, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Republic of Cameroon, and the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire.

Al-Yami reviewed some of the Union’s activities in organizing training programs, conferences and media forums, coordinating the media movement of member states towards common issues and challenges, working to enhance the media presence of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and its various bodies, and promoting digital transformation in the Union’s programs and member agencies.

Al-Yami urged member states that have not yet paid their contributions to respond to the decisions of the General Assembly of the Union and the decisions of the Islamic Conferences of Information Ministers and Foreign Ministers calling on them to pay their mandatory contributions to the Union’s budget.

Al-Yami expressed his sincere gratitude to His Excellency the Chairman of the Executive Council and Minister of Media in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Mr. Salman bin Yousef Al-Dosari, for his great support to the Union.

He also expressed his thanks to the Acting Chairman of the Executive Council and President of the Saudi Press Agency, Mr. Ali Al-Zaid, for his great efforts in following up on the work of the Union and supporting its management, and thanks are extended to the members of the Executive Council for their support and keenness to contribute to the Union’s various programs and initiatives.

During the meeting, the Executive Council approved the Union’s final accounts and planning budget for 2025 and approved their submission to the General Assembly.

The Executive Council also listened to a presentation by the Director-General on the most prominent activities and programmes implemented since the last session of the Council, the memoranda of cooperation and understanding concluded during the past period, and the future plans and programmes of the Union.

The Executive Council also approved a number of draft resolutions aimed at strengthening joint Islamic action in the field of media, and approved their submission to the General Assembly.

The Executive Council consists of the headquarters country, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Azerbaijan, Benin, Côte d'Ivoire, Djibouti, Gambia, Malaysia, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, and the United Arab Emirates.

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