The Minister of Culture and Information Iyad bin Amin Madani said that a royal approval has been issued to the Ministry of Culture and Information to organize the 1st International Conference on Media in cooperation with the World AFRA Organization in Riyadh on March 31. In a statement to Saudi Press Agency (SPA), Madani expressed his thanks to and appreciation of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Deputy Premier, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General for the approval which embodies the royal directives to the Ministry of Culture and Information for the enrichment of media movement in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in general, meeting with media personnel and creating channels of communication with them in particular. The Minister of Culture and Information said that the ministry has recently joined the membership of "AFRA", which is an international organization for researches and services related to the news industry and publication; it is concerned with press and information publication; it organizes international exhibitions and seminars and provides services to more than 3000 members in 80 countries. He said that the Ministry aims through the Conference titled "Future of Press Publication" to build bridges of cooperation and dialogue between media organizations in the Middle East, building the culture of communication between media personnel, promoting the appropriate academic climate for graduating distinguished media cadres, benefiting from global expertise and experience in the field of publishing and marketing, and providing access to modern technologies in the field of printing and publishing. The Minister of Culture and Information said participants in the conference include international experts in media industry from all over the world, experts and advisors from AFRA and personnel of news organizations and local media.
