General Director Vũ Việt Trang (R) leads the VNA delegation to the 18th OANA General Assembly in Tehran, Iran. — VNA/VNS Photo

TEHRAN — The Vietnam News Agency (VNA) has been re-elected to the Executive Board of the Organisation of Asia-Pacific News Agencies (OANA) for 2022 - 2025 on the last working day of the 18th OANA General Assembly in Tehran of Iran on October 25.

The Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) of Iran was elected OANA President for this tenure. Meanwhile, the Republic of Korea’s Yonhap news agency, the Russian News Agency TASS, the AZERTAC News Agency of Azerbaijian, the Xinhua News Agency of China, and the Anadolu Agency of Turkey are Vice Presidents.

OANA members approved the minutes of the 49th meeting of the OANA Executive Board, the revised OANA Statutes, and the proposal of choosing TASS as host of the 19th OANA General Assembly in 2025.

Concluding the event, they adopted the Tehran Declaration, which stresses creative solutions carried out by news agencies during and after the pandemic and shows their commitment to strengthening cooperation to fight fake news and promote the public trust in mainstream news.

The General Assembly on October 24 - 25 saw the presence of over 50 delegates from member news agencies.

Participants assessed challenges facing the global media amid the COVID-19 pandemic, including the fast-changing trend in information access, fake news, falling revenue from media services, and the adaptability of human resources and technical infrastructure.

They also shared experiences in establishing suitable operation models, maximising the strength and advantages of each news agency, and enhancing cooperation with domestic and foreign media agencies to share burdens, overcome common difficulties, and together open up a new chapter for media cooperation.

After the 18th General Assembly’s closing session, the OANA Executive Board convened the 50th meeting under the chair of the new OANA President and IRNA Managing Director, Ali Naderi.

The board members elected Mansour Falsafi from IRNA as OANA Secretary General for 2022 - 2025 and agreed to hold the 51st meeting of the OANA Executive Board in Turkey at the request of the Anadolu Agency.

During her stay in Iran to attend the 18th General Assembly, VNA General Director Vũ Việt Trang had meetings with TASS Director General Sergei Mikhailov and Director General of the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA) Kiril Aleksandrov Valchev to discuss cooperation plans.

She also met Vietnamese Ambassador to Iran Lương Quốc Huy, during which they discussed the two countries’ relations and cooperation between the VNA and IRNA. — VNS