Jeddah (UNA) - His Excellency the General Supervisor of Official Media in the State of Palestine, Vice-President of the Executive Council of the Union of News Agencies of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (UNA), Minister Ahmed Assaf, inaugurated today, Monday (March 10, 2025), the Union’s office in the State of Palestine, which is the first office of the “UNA” Union outside the headquarters country, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
At the beginning of the event, which was held online and attended by a number of permanent representatives to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and directors of member news agencies, His Excellency the Acting Chairman of the Executive Council of the Union and Chairman of the Saudi Press Agency (SPA), Mr. Ali Al-Zaid, stressed that the opening of the office embodies a qualitative development in the work of the Union, expressing his hope that the office will contribute to coordinating joint movements to support the cause of Palestine and Al-Quds Al-Sharif in the media, and to enhance the presence of the just Palestinian narrative and story in international media spaces.
Al-Zaid stressed that the official media system in the State of Palestine embracing this office, with its extensive experience and rich professional history, will positively reflect on its work and will have the greatest impact in accomplishing the tasks and responsibilities assigned to it.
He urged member news agencies to support the work of the office within the framework of news, information and expertise exchange that is not limited to republishing and distributing reports and news issued by the office only, but also extends to providing it with media materials and content related to its field of work.
For his part, His Excellency the Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Mr. Hussein Ibrahim Taha, said that the Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip confirmed the pivotal and important role of the media in shaping the convictions and perceptions of global public opinion towards the issue.
In his speech, delivered on his behalf by His Excellency the Assistant Secretary-General for Palestine and Al-Quds Al-Sharif Affairs in the Organization, Ambassador Samir Bakr, Taha expressed his hope that this office would contribute to the follow-up and documentation efforts undertaken by the Media Monitoring Unit in the General Secretariat of the Organization, with the aim of documenting and exposing the Israeli crimes and violations against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and the rest of the occupied Palestinian territory.
The Secretary-General noted the office’s role in enhancing cooperation between the State of Palestine and the media arms of the organization, praising the efforts made by the Union to coordinate the support of its member agencies for the Palestinian cause.
In turn, the General Supervisor of Official Media in the State of Palestine, Minister Ahmed Assaf, described the opening of the Union’s first foreign office in the State of Palestine as “a historic and important event, due to its media and political implications for the Palestinian people. It is a strong message of support for our people and their just cause, and an affirmation of the Palestinian people’s right to their homeland.”
Assaf explained that the office will open a new page of constructive cooperation between the official Palestinian media and the union, and thus will have an impact on spreading the Palestinian narrative on the widest scale in 57 countries, which is the total number of countries in the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.
On behalf of His Excellency the President of the State of Palestine, Mr. Mahmoud Abbas, Assaf extended his sincere thanks to all those who contributed to making this achievement a reality on the ground, specifically our brothers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the host country, the Presidency of the Executive Council represented by His Excellency the Minister of Information in the Kingdom, Mr. Salman Al-Dosari, His Excellency Mr. Ali Al-Zaid, Acting Chairman of the Executive Council of the Union, and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation represented by His Excellency its Secretary-General, Hussein Ibrahim Taha.
Assaf also expressed his special thanks to the Union, led by the Director General, Mr. Mohammed bin Abdul Rabbo Al-Yami, for its efforts in conveying the voice of the Palestinian people and their positions to more than 2 billion Muslims around the world, despite Israeli attempts to silence this voice by targeting Palestinian journalists and killing more than 200 journalists during the recent aggression.
After that, His Excellency Minister Assaf opened the Union’s office, which is hosted by the official media system in the State of Palestine, specifically the Palestinian News and Information Agency (WAFA), and commemorative photos were taken for this occasion.
In his speech during the opening, the Director General of the Union, His Excellency Mr. Mohammed bin Abdul Rabbo Al-Yami, explained that the establishment of the Palestine office comes within the framework of enhancing media cooperation between member states and supporting efforts aimed at conveying the voice of truth and justice to the world, expressing his thanks to His Excellency Minister Ahmed Assaf for his role in opening the office.
Al-Yami stressed that Palestine, which has been suffering from occupation for decades, needs a voice to be heard and a story to be told, stressing that this office will be an effective tool in conveying the truth, supporting the just Palestinian cause, and strengthening Islamic solidarity with the steadfast Palestinian people.
It is noteworthy that the opening of the office comes within the framework of implementing the decision issued by the sixth session of the General Assembly of the Union, which was held on January 27, 2025 via video conference, which called on the Union to coordinate with the Palestinian News and Information Agency (WAFA) in order to create a news exchange system concerned with publishing news of Palestine in all member states of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and in various languages, including by establishing a special office for this purpose.
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