GCC heads of news agencies have approved a proposal to establish a joint news application.

The heads of news agencies from Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries have given a preliminary nod to the establishment of a joint news application.

The proposal, spearheaded by Qatar, promises to empower citizens of GCC member states with direct access to official news updates from each member country.

The decision was made during their 22nd assembly, held via a video conference.

Consequently, the task of spearheading the application’s creation has been assigned to the Qatar News Agency in collaboration with specialised committees from other member states.

Apart from accessing news, the soon-to-be-developed application offers users the ability of tuning into live broadcasts from a plethora of Gulf-based radio and television stations.

Additionally, users will be granted access to vast photo and video archives, while also having the option to engage with the individual social media networks of each respective news agency.

To ensure ease of data retrieval, the application will pull from various sources across GCC news agencies and the information will be stored in a centralised database.

The move will also include the establishment of a supervisory dashboard, available exclusively to authorised personnel from each member nation.

Underlining the importance of this initiative, attendees of the conference were unanimous in the decision to form a technical media committee.

The committee’s prime objective will be to bolster cooperation and ensure seamless coordination among the news agencies. Their responsibilities will include streamlining the implementation of all recommendations concerning the app’s development.

The next meeting for the key media players is slated to take place in Qatar next year.