Azerbaijan to host 10th OANA general assembly in 2028

Azerbaijan’s state news agency Azertag will host the 10th General Assembly of the Organization of Asia-Pacific News Agencies (OANA) in 2028, following a decision made during the organization’s 19th General Assembly held this week in Saint Petersburg.

The assembly also elected the Russian state news agency TASS as OANA chair until 2028. TASS Director General Andrey Kondrashov will serve as President of OANA for the duration of the chairmanship, while First Deputy Director General Mikhail Gusman will take on the role of Secretary-General, Caliber.Az reports via Azertag.

A new Executive Committee was formed at the gathering. The vice presidents elected include IRNA (Iran), Yonhap (Republic of Korea), Azertag (Azerbaijan), Anadolu (Türkiye), and Xinhua (China). Additional Executive Committee members include Antara (Indonesia), Bernama (Malaysia), QNA (Qatar), BNA (Bahrain), Kyodo (Japan), and VNA (Vietnam).

The assembly also named Oman’s ONA as chair of the Technical Committee, while Pakistan’s APP will lead the Ethics Committee.

Delegates addressed key issues facing the media industry, including efforts to combat fake news and disinformation, and the growing integration of artificial intelligence technologies into journalism. Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, along with representatives from Yonhap and Kyodo news agencies, delivered remarks on these topics.

The outgoing OANA chair, Iran’s IRNA agency, led the organization from 2022 to 2025.

By Sabina Mammadli