Kuwait City: Heads of news agencies from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries have approved a series of recommendations aimed at enhancing joint cooperation in key areas such as economic reporting, creation of a unified Gulf bulletin, and the exchange of news and archive materials among both official and unofficial media institutions.
According to Kuwait News Agency, the agreement was reached during the 24th meeting of GCC news agencies, which was held via videoconference and chaired by Mohammad Al-Mannai, the Acting Director-General of Kuwait News Agency (KUNA). Kuwait has been designated as the host country responsible for publishing a weekly report on significant events and activities within the GCC countries, along with economic reports, short podcasts, and the unified Gulf bulletin.
As part of these recommendations, Kuwait will collaborate with the GCC General Secretariat to monitor and combat the dissemination of misleading and false news. Oman has been tasked with implementing a recommendation to enhance cooperation in the global coverage of major events and to facilitate the exchange of news archives across GCC countries.
Saudi Arabia's initiative to have each agency produce a visual documentary film focused on the fields of economy, tourism, or environment, to be published through the Gulf News Agencies Network, was also approved. Additionally, a program was sanctioned for the exchange of visits between editors, photographers, and technicians, set to commence in January 2026.
The committee also endorsed a proposal to organize a virtual photo exhibition during the upcoming 46th GCC Summit in the UAE, which will be presented at the next meeting of information ministers. In terms of cooperation with Jordan and Morocco, the committee agreed on a program for the exchange of visits between editors, photographers, and technicians. This program aims to diversify areas of cooperation, particularly in combating fake news and utilizing artificial intelligence in news processing, starting in mid-August 2025.
The meeting featured participation from key figures including Acting Director-General of Emirates News Agency, Mohammed Al-Hammadi; Director-General of Bahrain News Agency, Abdullah Buhejji; Director-General and Editor-in-Chief of Oman News Agency, Ibrahim Al-Azri; Director-General of Qatar News Agency, Ahmad Al-Rumaihi; Vice President for the News Sector at the Saudi Press Agency, Hassan Al-Asmari; and Director of the Office of the Director-General of KUNA, Omar Al-Omar.