The Federation of Arab News Agencies includes the national news agencies of 18 Arab countries whose goal is to strengthen ties professionalism among those agencies, securing the widest areas for distributing news within the Arab countries, and delivering Arab news abroad. To achieve this, the Federation seeks to raise the level of member agencies by providing Advice, encourage exchange and hold Periodic meetings of news agencies in addition to specialized meetings, and works to develop cooperation Media and technical between its member agencies and national news agencies around the world
Attempts were made to establish the union in 1964 and its first conference was held in 1965 in Amman, the Kingdom
Jordanian Hashemite but that
The idea remained without any actual steps for implementation until January 1974, when the League of Arab States called for
Hold a meeting in
Based in Cairo for directors of Arab agencies to re-examine the establishment of the union. Here it was agreed to hold the conference
The second in Baghdad in April
(April) 1974, in which decisions were taken to start actual work in the same year.
In November 1974 held in
Beirut, the third conference, in which the first general secretariat and a general secretary of the union were elected, and work began at the headquarters
Beirut at the beginning of 1975.
The founding agencies of the union were those that existed in that year, namely, the Jordanian, the Tunisian,
Algerian, Saudi, Syrian, Iraqi, Palestinian, Lebanese, Libyan, Moroccan, Yemeni.
Jordan News Agency - Petra
Emirates News Agency - WAM -
Bahrain News Agency - BNA
Tunisia Africa News Agency - TAP
Algerian news agency-WAJ
Saudi News Agency - SPA
Syrian Arab News Agency - SANA
Iraqi News Agency - Aa'a
Palestinian News Agency - Wafa
Qatar News Agency - Qena
Kuwait News Agency - KUNA
National News Agency - NNA
Jamahiriya News Agency - AUG
Maghreb Arab News Agency - MAP
Mauritanian Press Agency - Ma
Yemen News Agency - Saba
Middle East News Agency - ASHA
Sudan News Agency - SUNA
Oman News Agency - Oman
The Union has a supreme body called the General Assembly, and its meetings are held once a year
(usually in the month of November-November)
in the presence of the general managers of the member agencies, while the General Secretariat meets twice a year to discuss the activities of the Union
It consists of seven members who are elected at the General Assembly meeting for a period of two years, while the Secretary-General is elected for a period of five
years and have experience and competence in the fields of news agencies and their press
The Federation achieved the unity of the word of agencies
The Arab League in professional issues and its annual conferences and specialized meetings contributed to the development of cooperation between these agencies
And assisting emerging Arab agencies
by providing them with material and technical support and expertise, as well as exchanging experiences and visits between
Employees of member agencies