During his speech at the “101st” regular session of the Arab Media Standing Committee, held in the Kingdom of Bahrain, Ambassador Ahmed Rashid Khatabi, the Assistant Secretary-General and Head of Media and Communication at the Arab League, highlighted the critical importance of continuous media support for the Palestinian cause—a central concern in Arab affairs, especially in light of the catastrophic effects of the Israeli aggression on Gaza and other occupied Palestinian territories.
Khatabi expressed his gratitude to the Bahraini Ministry of Information for hosting the 54th session of the Council of Arab Ministers of Information, which convened in an atmosphere of trust and solidarity following the Arab Summit in Bahrain.
He outlined that the committee was established under Article 4 of the Arab League Charter, which serves as the primary mechanism for joint Arab media action, empowered by the Council’s constitution.
In his statement distributed by the General Secretariat on Monday, Khatabi acknowledged the efforts of the committee’s former president, Dr. Nabil Jassim from Iraq, and looked forward to the contributions of the new committee president, Abdulrahman Nasser Al-Obaidan, who has been entrusted by member states with his extensive media experience and deep understanding of Arab media cooperation files.
Khatabi reviewed the committee’s agenda, which includes implementing the decisions of the Bahrain Summit. This includes the Arab joint media strategy to combat terrorism, which, having been adopted at the summit, now requires the activation of its phased implementation plan for 2024-2027 in collaboration with relevant stakeholders, adopting a comprehensive and proactive approach.
Since the last session in Morocco (June 2023), several events have documented activities in the media and communication sector of the Arab League, including the workshop on “Enhancing Security Awareness for Official Spokespersons” in Qatar, and the first negotiation team meeting with international media companies in Jordan.
Additionally, meetings included the Arab Media Electronic Committee’s efforts in Jordan, focusing on cyber security and protecting Arab sites and platforms from hacking.
The committee also discussed the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals during the first influencers and content creators meeting in Jordan, aiming to educate and guide Arab media towards supporting these goals.
In closing, Khatabi expressed his hopes for the committee’s success in producing practical recommendations and proposals that would enhance the Arab media’s journey towards creating open, pluralistic, credible content capable of evolving and innovating.