MOSCOW, September 22. /TASS/. Cooperation between Russia and Iran within the framework of the Organization of Asia-Pacific News Agencies (OANA) is an important step toward strengthening media diplomacy and countering a one-sided news flow, Iranian Ambassador Kazem Jalali said in connection with a media forum in Moscow dedicated to OANA’s 65th anniversary.

The ambassador described expanded media cooperation between Iran and Russia under the regional OANA mechanism as "an important step toward strengthening media diplomacy and countering a one-sided news flow," according to a statement posted on the embassy’s Telegram channel citing Jalali.

The OANA media forum is being held in Moscow in the year marking the organization’s 65th anniversary. OANA brings together 41 news agencies from 33 countries. TASS is organizing the forum and holds the OANA chairmanship until 2028. TASS Director General Andrey Kondrashov is OANA’s president, while TASS Deputy Director General Marat Abulkhatin is the organization’s secretary general.