Bahrain to Host 3rd World Media Summit in 2014

Minister of State for Information Affairs Samira bint Ibrahim bin Rajab has announced that the kingdom will host the third World Media Summit in November, 2014, in line with the media openness it is currently witnessing, its support for media freedoms and its widely-acknowledged position in this regard. She also asserted that the Ministry of State for Information Affairs has prepared an ambitious plan to advance the kingdom's position in the world media map through many functions, including the hosting of such a prestigious international media summit. The Minister of State made the announcement as she met here today, in the presence of the Director of the Bahrain News Agency (BNA) Mohanned Suleiman, with the Russian ITAR-TASS News Agency's General-Director Vitaliy Ignatenko and Deputy Director-General Mikhail Gusman. During the meeting, Mrs. Rajab discussed with the Russian delegation the Kingdom's preparations to host the third World Media Summit in November, 2014, affirming that holding key international summits and conferences in Bahrain reflects the world's confidence in it because of its distinctive feature as a highly modern civil state with distinguished infrastructure and successful development and reform marches. On his part, ITAR-TASS News Agency's General-Director Vitaliy Ignatenko welcomed holding the third World Media Summit in Bahrain, hailing the freedom environment and and media openness it is currently witnessing, noting that hosting such a world event can motivate international media networks to focus on the kingdom and highlight its achievements. At the end of the meeting, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between BNA and ITAR-TASS, the organizer of the second World Media Summit, held in Russia, to enhance joint cooperation so as to ensure a successful third summit in Bahrain. It is to be noted that China hosted the first World Media Summit, Russia the second and Bahrain will host the third.