Hanoi (VNA) – The Organisation of Asia-Pacific News Agency (OANA) isa prestigious journalism forum which has been effectively operated over theyear years, said Vice Chairman of the Hanoi city People’s Committee Ngo VanQuy.

As part of the 44th OANA ExecutiveBoard Meeting which officially opened in Hanoi on April 19, Quy spoke highly ofthe role of Asia-Pacific news agencies in supporting the development of thecapital of Hanoi in particular as well as Vietnam as a whole.

Together with impressive socio-economic achievements, Hanoi has emerged as anattractive and safe destination for international friends, he said, adding thatthe capital city has positively contributed to regional and global peace andprosperity by successfully organising a wide range of important events. Thecity’s success has partly relied on the support and coordination of regionalmedia organisations.

As OANA gathers the leading news agencies in the region, Quy believed thatexperts will share experience and act on various initiatives to meet theincreasing requirements of the community and help to bring prosperity to theregion.

Expressing his gratitude over the warm reception of the host Vietnam NewsAgency and the municipal People’s Committee for OANA’s member news agencies,OANA General Secretary Vugar Seidov said that the conference in Hanoi turnedan important page in the development of the organisation.

He said he was impressed by the tremendous development of Hanoi and Vietnam.

“Vietnam has witnessed rapid development over the past few years and theVietnam News Agency, as the official state news provider, has an important rolein the country’s development”, he said.

The 44th Executive Board Meeting of OANA is taking place from April 18-20 underthe theme of “For a professional and innovative journalism”. It focuses onthree main contents, including strategies of news agencies in response tochanges in information use behaviours which focus on video clips and the platformYouTube; fake news and fact-checking; and regaining public trust in mainstreamnews.

At present, OANA brings together 44 news agencies from 35 countries. OANAmembers are responsible for two-thirds of information circulated throughout theworld. Everyday, OANA member news agencies publish around 200 news stories,photos, and video clips on the OANA website at //www.oananews.org/.

The organisation holds its general assemblyevery three years to select an Executive Board with 13 member news agencies.The Vietnam News Agency is a member of the 2016-2019 Executive Board.

OANA organises its Executive Board meetingannually under the host of an Executive Board member on a rotary basis. Themeeting provides a venue for leaders of news agencies to share experience,update themselves new journalism development trends in the world, and discussmeasures to consolidate professional cooperation.

OANA was established in Bangkok, Thailand, on December 22, 1961, as aninitiative of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and CulturalOrganisation (UNESCO). –VNA