Cementing ties: Pakistan-Iran ink agreement to cooperate in radio broadcasting
Iranian and Pakistani broadcasting officials have expressed desire to strengthen ties between the two countries through media and cultural exchanges and collaborations in producing programmes.
Media, being the most effective tool, can be utilised for the promotion of understanding of each others’ cultures and society and cementing ties between the two countries, they said.
To translate this desire into practice, Radio Pakistan and Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) at the Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation headquarters in Islamabad on Thursday. The organisations will cooperate in the field of radio broadcast.
The agreement was signed by Radio Pakistan Director-General Murtaza Solangi and his Iranian counterpart IRIB Vice President Mohammad Hossein Sufi.
Under the MoU, the two organisations will arrange short-term training courses to improve the professional skills of their staffers. They will also exchange production teams with the aim of producing programmes of cultural and historical backgrounds of the two countries.
The two organisations will broadcast programmes from their radio channels on their national days. The two sides will also take part in festivals, conferences and other radio forums in their countries besides cooperating in technical areas.
Welcoming the Iranian Radio delegation, PBC Director General Murtaza Solangi said the people of the two countries are tied in bonds of religion, history, culture and language. He said we enjoy unbreakable bonds and have great relationship with the people of Iran. He expressed the hope that the visit of the Iranian delegation will open new vistas of cooperation between two organisations.
IRIB Vice President Hossein Sufi said that two countries should further improve relations and cooperation in all fields of life because they have common values. He urged media for provision of background material about the unique relationship between Pakistan and Iran to advance our relations. He said through the media of Radio, we want to promote dialogue. He assured all out assistance and cooperation to Radio Pakistan on the behalf of Iranian Government and Radio.
This was followed by a presentation by Solangi. He said 65 units of Radio Pakistan are broadcasting news and programmes all over the country to provide information, education, and entertainment to the masses. Radio Pakistan, he said, has bigger listenership than all private radio channels combined.
He said PBC broadcasts 151 bulletins in 24 national, regional, local and foreign languages spreading over 400 minutes.
Some local media people called for promotion of Persian language and literature through the state-run media outlets.
Sufi said that the cultural relations between Pakistan and Iran have improved with the passage of time. He said the cooperation in different sectors will help bring people of the two countries closer together and will open new avenues of development and prosperity in the region. He said that his visit to Pakistan is the continuation of Solangi’s visit to Iran.
The visits will enhance cooperation between the two countries and the cooperation between the two organisations will yield positive and long lasting impacts. He added. Sufi and Solangi then exchanged souvenirs.
Later the Iranian delegation went round different sections in the broadcasting house.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 29th, 2012.
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