Jeddah, Dec. 12, 2019, SPA -- The Minister of Media of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Turki bin Abdullah Al-Shabana, who is also Chairman of the Executive Council of the Union of News Agencies (UNA) of Islamic Cooperation Organization (OIC) chaired here today the 1st extraordinary session of the General Assembly of UNA in the attendance of Dr. Abdullah Al-Tayer, the representative of the Secretary General of OIC who also serves as Senior Advisor at OIC; Abdullah bin Fahd Al-Hussein, the President of the Saudi Press Agency (SPA), who is also Chairman of the General Assembly of UNA; and Isa Khaireh Robleh, the Director General of UNA, and general assembly members. At the outset of the meeting, Minister Al-Shabana welcomed the participants, wishing them every success. Addressing the gathering, he said; "of course you know, the numerous challenges facing news agencies, both at the level of content industry and the provision of a media content that copes with the rapid flooding flows of news, in addition to the diversity of knowledge needs of recipients or at the level of enhancing the presence of news agencies at new media platforms and guaranteeing public access to these news through diversifying the means of publishing, and fruitful usage of digital outlets which allow collecting all factors of a media material in one package." He added, "although the prevailing view in our countries tends towards considering official news agencies as the most reliable, especially in reporting government news, this should not deter us from continuing to develop and modernize our mechanisms, especially in light of the current diversity of news sources". He stressed the need to keep up with the development of the media industry and the changes and developments that require rapid interaction from us in UNA. In conclusion, he stressed that we have to stand together in light of all the challenges confronting us and work with the same team spirit within the framework of UNA. -- More 20:34 LOCAL TIME 17:34 GMT 0029 www.spa.gov.sa/w1227736