Maneesh Bakshi
Doha
IN line with Qatar's preparations for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, the country's national news outfit Qatar News Agency (QNA) is all set to expand and extend its existing facilities to resident foreign media houses and international correspondents, according to Ahmed Mohamed al Buainain, director of Foreign Media at QNA.
Talking to Qatar Tribune recently, Buainain said,"The QNA is fast implementing its expansion programme after moving to the new 27-storey building in the heart of West Bay area and has dedicated an entire floor to facilitating ease of work for representatives of international press working in Qatar."
"We have built 11 fully-furnished offices with all the amenities such as Internet connection and 24-hour technical support and so on to be offered to different media establishments working in Qatar at a very nominal rent," he continued.
"In addition to the offices, there will be a free facility to hold press conferences in a centrally located conference room large enough to accommodate adequate number of correspondents and photographers. The conference facility will be extended to government agencies, diplomats and corporate houses," he said, adding:"With time it will make sense to hold all the press conferences in a centralised press room thus making it convenient for the foreign media to attend such briefings owing to easy access to and proximity of the conference room."
Speaking of future expansion, Buainain said,"We are currently in the process of finalising a proposal to set up a TV studio for foreign correspondents to be able to edit their footage and quickly send to their respective head offices for broadcasting. In the absence of such a facility, most of the cameramen have to take the services of professional broadcasters who have such an in-house facility."
According to Buainain, there are around 18 foreign news agencies and 90 foreign correspondents working in Qatar. The QNA is the sole authority that oversees the granting of permissions to foreign journalists to operate in Qatar.
Besides facilitating foreign media activities in Qatar, the QNA also undertakes the responsibility of organising training programmes for local Qatari youth and fresh graduates as interns to help them to acquire necessary skills to become effective media professionals.
Speaking further about the training programmes, Assistant Director of Foreign Media Salma Mohamed al Yousef said,"On an average in a year, QNA organises 10 different courses in Arabic designed for media professionals with various abilities. Besides, it also organises two courses in English for non-Arabic speakers."
She added,"QNA is fast implementing its expansion project. We are receiving very good response from agencies in Kuwait, Turkey, Sudan and many other Western media houses who have shown interest in renting newly equipped offices and to avail the services offered by QNA to the foreign agencies."