Kuwait Opens Door for Strategic Partnership Between ANTARA and KUNA
The Kuwaiti Embassy in Jakarta has stated its readiness to facilitate news exchange cooperation between the National News Agency (LKBN) ANTARA and the Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) as an effort to strengthen the flow of information and public understanding in both countries.
The Kuwaiti Ambassador to Indonesia, Timor-Leste, and ASEAN, Khalid Jassim Al-Yassin, stated that such collaboration is essential to enhance public understanding of various current issues and policies in both Indonesia and Kuwait.
“In my view, we need to strengthen cooperation between ANTARA and news agencies and the press in Kuwait to bolster the exchange of news and information between our two nations,” said Khalid Jassim Al-Yassin during a visit to the ANTARA Heritage Center in Pasar Baru, Jakarta, on Tuesday.
According to Khalid, ANTARA and KUNA share several similarities, notably serving as official news agencies that act as primary information sources in their respective countries.
He also highlighted that both news agencies were established prior to the independence of the nations they represent. KUNA was founded in 1956, five years before Kuwait gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1961. Meanwhile, ANTARA was established in 1937, eight years before Indonesia achieved independence in 1945.
To accelerate the realisation of this cooperation, Khalid requested that ANTARA’s management submit a draft Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to the Kuwaiti Embassy so it can be forwarded to KUNA.
He expressed optimism that the opportunity for collaboration between the two news agencies is wide open and hopes that the cooperation document can be signed promptly.
“Please send the draft MoU to us and we will forward it to KUNA, and we can proceed with the discussions from there,” said Khalid.
The President Director of LKBN ANTARA, Benny Siga Butarbutar, welcomed the initiative positively. According to him, ANTARA requires a broader network of cooperation with news agencies in the Middle East region.
He assessed that this collaboration would help enrich the flow of information from a region that has remained somewhat limited, particularly regarding economic and cultural issues.
As an initial step, Benny proposed that ANTARA and KUNA begin their cooperation through news exchange.
“If we can obtain direct information and also exchange news, it will be better for both our countries. In particular, we need cooperation between the Kuwait News Agency and the ANTARA News Agency,” said Benny.