Baku, June 24, AZERTAC

The News Agencies World Council (NACO) has held a meeting in London.

The issues of preparation for the 7th News Agencies World Congress were discussed during the meeting with participation of members of the Council. The CEO of the Press Association Medıa Group (UK), President of News Agencies World Council Clive Marshall, the First Deputy Director General of the TASS news agency, NACO Vice-President Mikhail Gusman, the CEO of the Austrian APA agency and the European Alliance of News Agencies (EANA), Clemens Pig, the Director of the Moroccan MAP agency, Rachid Tijani, the Director General of the Bulgarian BTA agency, Kiril Valchev, the Secretary General of EANA, Alexandru Giboi, the Secretary General of the Federation of Arab News Agencies, Farid Ayar, as well as representatives from Reuters, Spanish EFE and Saudi Arabian SPA agencies, took part in the meeting, which was held both in physical attendance and in a video format. The chairman of the Board of AZERTAC, which is a member of the NACO, Aslan Aslanov represented the agency in the meeting.

During the discussions, the participants reviewed the issue of postponing the 7th News Agencies World Congress, which is scheduled to take place in Morocco in November this year, to a different time. The members of the Council said that despite the partial ease in the COVID-19 pandemic, it could be difficult for participants from many places of the world to come to Morocco. Therefore, it was decided to hold the Congress in 2023.

The Moroccan MAP agency is expected to host the 7th Congress. The key theme of the Congress, which will gather about 200 news agencies, media representatives and experts from around the world, is the future of news agencies in the post-pandemic world. At the same time, the participants in the Congress will exchange views on digital media, funding of news agencies, access to young audiences and other issues.

AZERTAC has been a member of NACO with its voting rights since 2013. The Council, which has 14 members, organizes News Agencies World Congress, and makes decisions on such issues as admission of new members and promotion of cooperation among different agencies. Co-organized by AZERTAC and the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, the 5th News Agencies World Congress was held in Baku in November 2016. The President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, made an address at the opening ceremony of the Congress, which was attended by about 200 guests. AZERTAC was the chair of the News Agencies World Congress in 2016-2019. The News Agencies World Congress is one of the most reputable international organizations in the field of media. It unites more than 100 leading news agencies of the world, as well as regional news organizations.

The previous News Agencies World Congress forums were hosted by Russia, Argentina, Spain, Saudi Arabia, Azerbaijan and Bulgaria. Along with AZERTAC, the NACO, which is the management body of the Congress, includes Associated Press, Press Association, Reuters, TASS, SPA and other agencies.