Baku, June 29, AZERTAC

Discussions of the draft law of the Republic of Azerbaijan “On the Media” has been held at the Azerbaijan State News Agency (AZERTAC).

The discussions were joined by senior executives of the Media Development Agency, members of the Board and department managers of AZERTAC.

Before the discussion, the meeting participants laid flowers at the bust of great leader Heydar Aliyev in the lobby of the AZERTAC building as a tribute to his memory. Flowers were also laid at the photos of AZERTAC and AzTV journalists Maharram Ibrahimov and Siraj Abishov, who were recently killed by a landmine in Kalbajar.

Speaking at the event, Chairman of the Board of AZERTAC, Aslan Aslanov, expressed his gratitude to the leadership of the Media Development Agency for holding the first discussion of the draft law among the media outlets at AZERTAC. Recalling that national leader Heydar Aliyev had always attached great importance to the media and treated journalists and the media with special attention and care, Aslan Aslanov noted that after the return of the national leader to power, censorship in the country was abolished and legal framework regulating the media was created. In the following years, under the leadership of President Ilham Aliyev, who successfully continues the policy of the great leader in the field of mass media, important reforms were carried out to align the national media with modern requirements.

“Currently, the media space is rapidly globalizing and the role of the media in society is growing at an unprecedented rate. Accordingly, the information environment modernizes day by day. Advanced technologies quickly enter our lives and leading trends emerge. Journalists and national media today have the task of informing the society more objectively and professionally. From this point of view, the improvement of legislation is the most important requirement of the day. I am confident that the Media Development Agency will successfully fulfill its responsibilities in this area,” the Chairman of the Board said.

Ahmad Ismayilov, the Executive Director of the Media Development Agency, thanked the leadership of AZERTAC for hosting the discussion of the draft law “On the Media”. Informing the meeting about the draft law, the executive director spoke about the importance of discussions in this regard. He emphasized that the ideas of experienced journalists of AZERTAC, the first news agency in Azerbaijan, could favor the common cause and called on them to share their views.

Then the Director of the Legal Department of the Media Development Agency, Ragsana Karimova, presented the draft law. She noted that provisions of the draft law apply to the media outlets and editorial offices established in the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan, their products, those operating outside the country but with their activities focused on Azerbaijan, as well as the foreign media products and journalists in the part circulated in Azerbaijan. The director of the department informed the participants about media entities (audiovisual, print and online media entities, news agencies), authorized agencies, requirements for information circulated in the media, use of the media information, media register, accreditation of journalists and other provisions of the draft law.

The event continued with a discussion and exchange of views on the draft law. The meeting concluded with a Q&A session.