Baku: Kazakhstan's delegation, led by Vice Minister of Culture and Information Rustam Ali, visited the Azerbaijan State News Agency (AZERTAC) during their trip to Azerbaijan. The delegation included Erlan Zhetybayev, Chairman of the International Information Committee of Kazakhstan's Foreign Ministry, and Temirlan Bakhytzhan, attach© of the Kazakh Embassy in Azerbaijan.
According to Azerbaijan State News Agency, the meeting with Chairman of the AZERTAC Board Vugar Aliyev focused on strengthening media cooperation, expanding information exchange, and exploring potential joint projects. Vugar Aliyev highlighted the established sustainable information exchange between AZERTAC and Kazakh media, particularly Kazinform, and stressed the importance of delivering accurate and prompt information about both countries.
Aliyev also mentioned the dynamically developing relations between Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, facilitated by the political will of Presidents Ilham Aliyev and Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. He pointed out the strategic partnership, fraternal ties, shared Turkic values, and economic cooperation as contributing factors. Addressing media industry challenges, he noted the role of social networks in spreading fake news and emphasized the use of fact-checking, artificial intelligence technologies, and verification tools to combat misinformation, with AZERTAC actively implementing new AI technologies.
The significance of the Shusha Global Media Forum was also discussed, with Aliyev stating that it has become a traditional international platform for experience exchange and cooperation. He highlighted the interest from foreign media outlets in collaborating with AZERTAC and provided the delegation with detailed information about the agency's activities, including its 22 foreign correspondent offices and eight-language news publication.
Rustam Ali acknowledged the advanced development of Azerbaijan's media sector and underscored the importance of strengthening professional ties between the journalistic communities of the two countries. He emphasized the brotherly relations between Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan and the role of such visits in enhancing mutual understanding. Ali stressed the need to focus on developing human capital and supporting young media professionals, noting the significance of uniting efforts to promote joint initiatives.
Ali also highlighted President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev's commitment to advancing artificial intelligence in Kazakhstan, expressing hopes for visible results in AI application by the end of the year. The conversation also covered organizing reciprocal journalist visits and implementing joint media projects. At the conclusion of the visit, the delegation toured the news desks, including the news production and multimedia content departments.