FORUM OF NATIONAL MASS MEDIA OPENS IN MOSCOW

Baku, 02 December,(AzerTAj)A three-day Forum of national mass media of the CIS member countries, to discuss the theme “Mass media and humanitarian potential of the Commonwealth of Independent States” opened in Moscow. The Forum is organized by the Russian "RIA Novosti News Agency" together with the Interstate Humanitarian
Cooperation Fund.

Representatives of influential mass media of the CIS, leading
representatives of analytical community of the countries of Commonwealth, and also
representatives of the Russian supreme bodies of executive and legislature,
parliament and CIS institutes of interstate cooperation take part at the Forum.
Head of department of the political analysis and information of President
Administration Elnur Aslanov, and also heads of leading Azerbaijan mass media takes
part in Forum.
In his remarks, E. Aslanov on behalf of Presidential Administration of Azerbaijan
wished successes the participants of Forum and expressed hope that discussions and
exchange of views are a good platform for discussion and creates good possibility
that mutual relations could advance on qualitatively new level. As he said, this
third forum of national mass media and the past stages allow saying that there is
more potential, ample opportunities for dialogue and realization of the turned out
ideas. “The fact of carrying out of such Forum of national mass media, testifies
that the judgments that the CIS was a dead born child, are groundless. Today, the
Forum have gathered representatives more than 60 leading mass media, ready to
discuss the form of effective interaction concerning qualitative and fruitful
development of mutual relations, intensifying fruitful cooperation”, Mr. Aslanov
stressed.
E. Aslanov reminded that the next year has been declared the Year of Youth in
Commonwealth territory, and the subsequent is the Year of Science and Innovations,
which, according to him, testifies to scale of humanitarian cooperation of the CIS.
E. Aslanov also noted “a number of the positive moments which allow speaking about
humanitarian potential of cooperation between Azerbaijan and Russia – about
functioning in our country of more than 350 Russian-speaking schools, a large
quantity of mass media in Russian, much editions surpassing in quantity during the
Soviet period. All this shows necessity and demand of the Russian language in
formation of mutual relations and cooperation between our countries.” He has
especially underlined the fact of opening of branch of the Moscow State University
in Azerbaijan, effective interaction with the Moscow Linguistic University,
functioning of RIA Novosti News Agency in Azerbaijan, and also opening in Baku of
the “Russian World” Center, which, undoubtedly, is possible to characterize, as
mutually advantageous cooperation.
According to Mr. Aslanov, the term “common information space” is not absolutely
clear, as each state has its national interests, its approaches to questions, and
therefore, it is difficult enough to speak about the common information space. “The
information space is formed not to a lesser degree by a conjuncture – geo-political,
geo-economic and other components. The concept “common information space” also is
ambiguous, he underlined.
The Forum is expected to discuss models of steady information partnership and
expansion of information-humanitarian sphere of cooperation at the expense of
integrated media projects, creation of constantly operating Council of the Heads of
Mass Media of the countries of post-Soviet space and a number of other questions
representing mutual interest.