Mr Ali Redjel, Algerian Ambassador to Ghana, Tuesday called at the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Accra to strengthen cooperation and promote partnership in information sharing and communication.
The visit was to forge stronger ties with Ghana’s only wire service, and to discuss collaboration with the Algerian Press Service (APS) through the Embassy of the People’s Republic of Algeria.
It was also to explore mutually beneficial areas of partnerships with the GNA to promote accurate reporting and information-sharing.
Ghana and Algeria have maintained diplomatic relations since Ghana’s independence in 1957 with various initiatives in economic, trade, investment, agriculture, infrastructural devolvement and cultural exchanges, undertaken over the years to deepen the long standing ties.
The relations between the two countries was nurtured during Algeria’s struggle for independence when the late anti-colonial activist, Frantz Omar Fanon, was appointed by the Algerian Liberation Movement, the National Liberation Front (FLN), as a Special Emissary to the Office of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, First President of the Republic of Ghana.
Subsequently, the Embassy of Ghana was officially established in April, 1963, among the first Diplomatic Missions in that country.
Since then, Ghana and Algeria have enjoyed uninterrupted cordial relations transcending into technical cooperation with over a hundred students on the Government of Ghana Scholarship currently studying in universities across Algeria.
Mr Redjel described the Ghana News Agency as “a strategic and important news outfit”, and applauded the Agency for consistently striving to uphold highest journalistic standards over the years.
He said the cooperation and solidarity between Ghana and Algeria needed to be extended in all fields and sectors, particularly in information, and communication with the GNA leading the path.
The Ambassador said with the changing dynamics in politics and economic experiences of both countries, information sharing, through the Ghana News Agency and the Algeria Press Service, was important in telling accurate stories on national issues, and also changing the African narrative in the international news media.
Mr Redjel said, “I have noticed that we don’t have much information between our two countries and I think it is the responsibility of GNA and APS to communicate and exchange first hand information about the developments of both countries in all sectors and on African issues.”
He said the exchange of best practices, especially in Journalism and training for journalists in both countries would promote a better understanding of the history, culture and politics of Ghana and Algeria, leading to a more informed reporting.
Mr Albert Kofi Owusu, the General Manager of the Ghana News Agency, who expressed appreciation to the Ambassador for the visit, said the GNA remained the most credible news source on Ghana and Africa.
He said the GNA was established by Dr Kwame Nkrumah not to tell only the Ghanaian story, but the African story to the rest of the world and welcomed such partnerships.
The General Manager said just like the Pan African News Agency, the GNA was also key in collating stories from other African countries to ensure a collective voice in the dissemination of information on Africa.
“We, are in a situation where if something happens in Algeria and other parts of Africa, news outlets like the BBC and other international media outlets get to hear it first before African news agencies like GNA, ” he lamented, and noted that the vision of Dr Kwame Nkrumah that “Africans must tell their own stories”, had not been fully realised.
“Africa is underreported, ” he noted and urged governments on the continent to resource news agencies to be effective voices of the State and market Africa to the world.
He said that called for a mutually beneficial relationship among news agencies on the continent.
Mr Kofi Owusu, therefore, called on other Embassies to forge stronger partnerships with the Ghana News Agency to ensure swift flow of accurate information between their countries and Ghana, stressing GNA’s commitment to telling credible stories devoid of “conspiracy theories, propaganda, and fake news”.
He said Ghana’s constitution provided laws that protected and ensured the independence of State agencies like the GNA, saying: “So, we are here to report the truth all the time with an independent news team operating credibly. You are assured that any news that GNA publishes is highly respected for its accuracy.”
Mrs Beatrice Asamani Savage, the Director of Editorial, GNA, said the Ambassador’s understanding of news agency journalism was an assurance that “we are on the right track”, and that it would be necessary to undertake some familiarisation visits for a better understanding of the operations of the GNA and APS.
Both parties agreed on signing an MoU between the Agency and the Embassy and also with the Algerian Press Service to strengthen the partnership in information sharing.
Source: GNA
