He has therefore urged African leaders to sufficiently fund their News Agencies which will become the preferred source of credible news on Africa by the Western Media.

The FAAPA President who said this at the closing session of the second General Assembly of Federation in Casablanca, Morocco, on Friday, noted that News Agencies were strategic partners in Africa’s political and socio-economic development and must be seen as such.

He asked African News Agencies to uphold the future of Africa by reporting positively on the continent’s development to counter the negative reportage on Africa in other media outlets. Mr Iddrisi praised Ghana for coming through a peaceful general election on December 7, 2016 and lauded Ghana’s democratic credentials.

The General-Secretary of the Morocco Ministry of Communications, Mohammed Ghazali, thanked FAAPA for choosing Casablanca as its venue for the second General Assembly. He urged FAAPA to assess the challenges facing the media in the era of social media and come up with a strategy to deal with it.

He also underscored the need for Africa to forge a more beneficial partnership and also develop its vast cultural potentials. FAAPA was founded in October, 2014, and allows its members to communicate better and  peer review their actions.

The Organization has also created better work conditions for its members and helped to develop professionalism among African Press Agencies. Furthermore, it seeks to promote the exchange of valuable ideas on the future of News Agencies and the role they must play in the 21st century.

In all, 30 state News Agencies were represented at the meeting including the Ghana News Agency (GNA) which placed second after Cote d’voire in placement of feature articles on the Association’s website.