Arabsat General Assembly Concludes 36th Meeting in Doha

Doha, April 10 (QNA) - The Arab Satellite Communications Organization's (Arabsat) board of directors and general assembly on Wednesday held its 36th round of meetings under the chairmanship of Qatar. Qatar, represented by ictQATAR Secretary General Dr. Hessa Al-Jaber, received the 36th session's presidency from Lebanon. Speaking to participants, Al Jaber said Qatar will work to support Arabsat and will offer all its capacities to serve the satellite as an Arab mechanism in order for it to be successful and achieve the desired goals in light of good relations among member states. She said Qatar will continue to closely monitor and support the strategic development plans of the Arab Satellite Communications Organization. As the meeting concluded, Arabsat CEO Khalid Balkheyour announced that the Arab Satellite Communications Organization posted more than $300 million of income in 2012, adding that the meeting endorsed the organization's 2013 budget with expected income of $328 million and profit of $138 million. Balkheyour said Arabsat's most significant achievement in 2012 was the direct acquisition of a majority stake in the Greek Hellas-Sat Consortium Ltd in a $270-million deal. Speaking as he handed over the general assembly's presidency to Dr. Al Jaber, Lebanese telecommunications minister's advisor Antoine Boustani expressed his confidence Qatar can lead the assembly to score more achievements for Arabsat. Qatar is one of five permanent member Arab states in the board of Arabsat and its specialized committees. The span-Arab satellite was founded by the Arab League and has since been offering TV services for more than 35 years. More than 450 TV channels, 30 HD channels, four pre-paid TV networks and 170 radio stations transmit on Arabsat to tens of millions of households in 100 countries in the Middle East, Africa, Europe and beyond. (QNA)