Putin calls for further cooperation among Asia-Pacific media

President Vladimir Putin encouraged Thursday the Asia-Pacific media to enhance cooperation amid changing global dynamics. In his address delivered to the 15th General Assembly of the Organization of Asia-Pacific News Agencies (OANA), Putin said the organization has helped its members boost cooperation and guarantee freedom of information exchange. More objective efforts, he said, are expected to cover international problems and disputes to their final settlements. Heads and representatives from 44 news agencies will discuss media influence in the context of globalization and inter-media communication in the two-day forum. Kemal Ozturk, president of the OANA, said the news agencies have been playing important roles in the current global situation, especially in those areas and regions of crisis, wars and terrorism. Zhou Xisheng, vice president of China's Xinhua News Agency, said Xinhua has been and will always be committed to injecting vitality to the cooperative mechanism. The OANA, founded in 1961, is aimed at facilitating the free flow of news and information in the Asia-Pacific region, and strengthening cooperation among world news agencies.