Tuesday, April 19, 2011

China Radio International signs deal with TRT

Text of report in English by official Chinese news agency Xinhua (New China News Agency)

[Xinhua: "China Radio International Signs Cooperation Deal With Turkish National Broadcaster"]

ANKARA, April 18 (Xinhua) - China Radio International (CRI), China’s only radio station running a world service, signed an agreement with Turkey’s national broadcaster Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT) here Monday to step up cooperation in broadcasting. The two sides will exchange programmes, increase staff communication and offer training sessions for each other’s employees, according to the agreement.

CRI President and Editor-in-Chief Wang Gengnian said it was the responsibility of Chinese and Turkish media organizations to promote the development of bilateral ties through media cooperation. “I hope the agreement will be put into practice as soon as possible and we can work together in other potential areas, too,” Wang said at the signing ceremony.

TRT Director General Ibrahim Sahin said TRT and CRI will provide assistance for each other’s resident correspondents working in their countries and have opportunities to jointly produce programmes. “I believe our cooperation will be stronger after the agreement takes effect,” he said.

China Radio International, formerly known as Radio Beijing, was founded on Dec. 3, 1941, with the aim of promoting understanding and friendship between the peoples of China and other countries. As of the end of 2010, CRI offers 2,471 hours of radio programming a day in 61 languages.

(Source: Xinhua news agency, Beijing, in English 1229 gmt 18 Apr 11 via BBC Monitoring/R Netherlands Media Network Weblog)