KUWAIT: Acting Director General of Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) Mohammad Al-Mannai met on Monday with ambassadors of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to Kuwait to discuss ways to enhance media cooperation and explore new avenues for partnership in professional development and training. During the meeting at KUNA headquarters, Al-Mannai highlighted Kuwait’s strong commitment to ASEAN as a key regional organization in political, economic, and cultural cooperation, and as one of the world’s emerging economic powers.
He noted that Kuwait’s accession to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC) two years ago underscores its determination to deepen strategic ties with ASEAN member states. Al-Mannai explained that KUNA seeks to serve as a media platform supporting this strategic partnership and promoting awareness of its importance for future generations. He affirmed the agency’s openness to building bridges of knowledge and communication to strengthen cooperation across various media fields.
Ambassadors of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) accredited to the country visit the headquarters of the Kuwait News Agency (KUNA).
He also highlighted KUNA’s productive bilateral relations with several ASEAN news agencies, including Indonesia’s Antara, Malaysia’s Bernama, and Vietnam’s VNA. Over the past years, he said, these partnerships have fostered news exchanges, visits, training programs, and professional collaboration. Al-Mannai expressed KUNA’s aspiration to extend this cooperation to other ASEAN news agencies and to enhance collaboration in news exchange, training, and joint programs that promote cultural understanding and people-to-people connections.
The ASEAN ambassadors commended KUNA’s professional role in addressing regional and international issues and fostering cultural and media understanding. They expressed their interest in expanding media cooperation through partnerships that strengthen ties between Kuwait and ASEAN at both official and public levels. The ambassadors stressed the importance of continued dialogue and joint media initiatives highlighting economic, cultural, and tourism cooperation, in addition to strengthening collaboration between KUNA and ASEAN news agencies.
The meeting was attended by ASEAN representatives: Indonesian Ambassador Lina Mariana; Lao PDR Ambassador Boon Inthabandhu; Cambodian Ambassador Sman Manan; Malaysian Ambassador Alauddin Noor; Philippine Ambassador Jose Cabrera; Myanmar Ambassador Chan Aye; Vietnamese Ambassador Tang Duc; Brunei Darussalam Second Secretary Adi Khalid; and Thailand’s Chargé d’Affaires ad interim Orayon Kurto. Representing KUNA were Deputy Director General for Editorial Affairs Essam Al-Ghanim, Acting Editor-in-Chief Mohammed Al-Bahr, Director of Marketing and Public Relations Essam Al-Ruwaieh, and Director of the Director General’s Office Lamia Al-Farsi. Established in 1967, ASEAN promotes economic, political, security, and cultural cooperation among its 11 member states: Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia, and Timor-Leste.— KUNA
