BAKU
Turkey’s Anadolu Agency and Azerbaijan’s state-run news provider AzerTac reached a number of agreements on Tuesday in a bid to boost relations between the two wire services.
According to the agreements, the organizations will work together to activate the website of the Turkish Language News Agencies Union, and to train some of AzerTac’s staff at Anadolu Agency’s News Academy.
Anadolu Agency Deputy Director-General and Editor-in-Chief Metin Mutanoglu met with AzerTac Director General Aslan Aslanov on Tuesday in Baku, where he is scheduled to attend the 3rd World Forum on Intercultural Dialogue to be held on May 21-22.
Recalling Azerbaijan’s third president Heydar Aliyev’s “two states, one nation” remark regarding his country’s ties with Turkey, Mutanoglu said AzerTac had a special meaning for Anadolu Agency.
“AzerTac is in a very good position in their field in this region,” Mutanoglu said.
“We want to benefit from your experience,” he added.
Aslanov said that Anadolu Agency had a strong journalism experience and history.
“Anadolu Agency’s journalism tradition and experience is a school for us,” he added.
AzerTac is a major news agency for Azerbaijan and the only source of official news from the country, according to the organization’s website.
Founded in 1920 the agency broadcasts in Azerbaijani, English, Russian, French, German, Arabic, and Chinese.
Anadolu Agency currently broadcasts in Turkish, English, Arabic, Russian, Kurdish, French, Albanian and also, collectively, in Bosnian, Serbian and Croatian.
The agency has divided its global network into five main regions as part of its centennial vision: the Americas, Europe, Middle East-Africa, Asia-Caucasus and Asia-Pacific.
By its hundredth anniversary in 2020, AA plans to be among the world’s top five news agencies and to broadcast in 11 languages.
This year in March Anadolu Agency signed a subscription agreement with Azerbaijan’s Lider TV.