Riyadh, December 17, 2018, SPA -- Minister of Media Dr. Awwad bin Saleh Dr. Al-Awwad held a meeting with the ministers of media and communication of the Arab countries on the sidelines of the celebration held this evening by the Ministry of Media on the occasion of the selection of Riyadh as the capital of Arab media for 2018-2019 at Al-Faisaliah Hotel in Riyadh. Dr. Al-Awwad delivered a welcoming speech at the beginning of the meeting. Dr. Al-Awwad explained that the celebration of Riyadh as the capital of the Arab media includes several events, such as hosting Riyadh for the first Arab media forum, which discusses the mechanisms and means of implementing the Arab media campaign to achieve the goals of sustainable development 2030. Dr. Al-Awwad explained that the meeting aims at presenting a number of initiatives and ideas, consultation and coordination with the media and communication sector of the Arab League to work towards their adoption, the most important of which are the following: - To abide by the code of honor of the Arab media and ethics of the profession and to ensure credibility away from the fabrication of stories for the purpose of excitement. - Mechanisms to activate the joint Arab action and overcome the challenges facing the coordination of its efforts in dealing with the most important challenges facing the Arab nation. - Mechanisms to increase the interaction and speed of implementation of decisions issued by the Council of Arab Ministers of Media. - The possibility of benefiting from the experiences of the European Union and discuss ways of cooperation between them and the Arab League in the field of resistance to hate speech and false news and to promote moderation and tolerance. The meeting included statements by the ministers of media of the Arab states. They congratulated the kingdom on the selection of Riyadh as the capital of the Arab media and expressed their happiness to participate in this historic celebration. The ministers agreed that the outcome of the meeting would be presented to the Standing Committee for Arab Media and then the Executive Office for approval. --SPA 22:39 LOCAL TIME 19:39 GMT 0032 www.spa.gov.sa/w806710