Riyadh, June 11, 2021, SPA -- The Committee of Culture, Media, Tourism and Antiquities of the Shura Council has held a virtual meeting chaired by Member of the Council, Chairman of the Committee Dr. Ali bin Ahmed Al-Qarni, with the participation of members of the Committee, Acting President of Saudi Press Agency (SPA) Dr. Fahd bin Hassan Al Aqran, and a number of officials of the Agency to study SPA's annual report for the fiscal year 1441/1442 AH. The meeting discussed the Agency's strategy to be presented in the coming months to be a qualitative addition to the Agency after its issuance. The Agency's officials confirmed the existence of cooperation and partnership agreements with the media departments in Saudi universities to train and develop their students, provide them with media and professional experiences, and prepare them for the labor market, noting that the Agency is working on partnerships with major Saudi companies to work on creating advanced media content. The meeting reviewed the main performance indicators in the agency’s report, its efforts in covering various events, issues, activities and following them up at the local, regional and international levels, especially those related to the Kingdom, as well as keeping pace with professional and technical developments and changes in the field of its competencies, the Agency’s endeavors to provide news services and press materials collected and prepared from various sources inside and outside the Kingdom, and their transmission and distribution. In the meeting with the Agency’s officials, members of the Committee were also briefed on the most important achievements, challenges and difficulties that SPA faced during the report period, and future aspirations towards taking care of local and international news in its various classifications, including writing, editing, transmitting, and drawing news from its main sources from various sectors to be media befitting the status of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia at all levels. The meeting discussed supporting solutions towards achieving the Agency's developmental goals and developing its financial resources, especially with regard to the acquisition of assets and the establishment of its own entities to market media products. A number of inquiries were also raised to the Agency's officials by the Committee's members who submitted a number of proposals and visions that help the Agency to carry out its works; whereas the officials answered the queries raised in preparation for the Committee's report and opinions on its recommendations on the Agency for presenting it to the Shura Council for discussion and taking decision in this regard. It is noteworthy that the Culture, Media, Tourism and Antiquities Committee is among the specialized committees in the Shura Council which study according to their competence relevant issues and regulations referred to them, and present their views and recommendations regarding these issues before submitting them to the Council for discussion and taking decision. --SPA 18:08 LOCAL TIME 15:08 GMT 0024 www.spa.gov.sa/w1570523