Jeddah, November 25, 2021, SPA -- The Islamic Broadcasting Union (IBU) and the Russian Sputnik News Agency and Radio signed today a memorandum of cooperation to enhance joint media work, at the headquarters of the Union of OIC News Agencies (UNA) in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The memorandum was signed during a virtual ceremony by IBU Director-General Dr. Amr El-Leithy and Sputnik's Director of International Cooperation Vasily Pushkov. IBU Director-General indicated that the memorandum will contribute to strengthening the news exchange between audio-visual broadcasting organizations in Islamic countries and their Russian counterparts, given the wide spread of Sputnik. It will also work to enable media discourse on topics of common interest, by promoting dialogue between religions and cultures, and confronting hate speech and extremism. Dr. El-Leithy expressed his aspiration to visit Sputnik agency in the next period to start discussing joint programs and activities, extending thanks to UNA and the permanent representative of Russia to the OIC for their efforts in facilitating the signing of this memorandum. For his part, Vasily Pushkov stressed the great importance of the IBU as an international incubator that combines audio-visual broadcasting organizations in the countries of the OIC, pointing out that the memorandum signed today will allow the agency to support its media coverage of Islamic world news, which is considered a constant interest to Sputnik and its various news platforms. -- SPA 16:08 LOCAL TIME 13:08 GMT 0011 www.spa.gov.sa/w1656193