Mr. Mohammad Jafari Malak and Mr. Ahmad Abdullapour, the Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the ACD Cultural Coordination Center, met with Mr. Ali Naderi, the CEO, Mr. Khosh Lahjeh, the Director General of Foreign News, and Mr. Reza Khani, the Head of the International Relations Office of the Islamic Republic News Agency on Wednesday 23/08/2023 and discussed cultural and media cooperation of ACD member states.

While briefing the IRNA officials about the Asia Cooperation Dialogue and the process of the formation of the Cultural Coordination Center (CCCACD) Mr. Jafari Malak and Mr. Abdollahpour discussed and proposed the establishment of ‘ACD’s Joint News Agency’ which is one of the 16 objectives of CCCACD proposed by the Islamic Republic of Iran and approved by ACD member states. They also suggested since the Islamic Republic of Iran is going to take on the annual chairmanship of the ACD in Sept. 2023, IRNA can use this opportunity to propose the required mechanism for the formation of ‘ACD’s Joint News Agency’.

Welcoming this proposal, Mr. Naderi stated that since Iran is a member of the Organization of Asia-Pacific News Agencies (OANA) and IRNA chairs OANA for the next 3 years, therefore, in order to avoid any possible overlaps, the proposal made by the CCCACD will be scrutinized and a draft plan of action will be presented shortly.