The chairman of the Qatar Press Center praised Kuwait’s state news wire, KUNA, for its professionalism, development, and credibility in recent years, particularly highlighting its comprehensive coverage of events such as the AFC Under-23 football tournament held in Qatar.
The chairman of the Qatar Press Center (QPC) commended Kuwait’s state news wire for its professionalism, development and credibility in its reporting in recent years.
On Sunday, Qatar’s Saad Al Rumaihi said in a statement to the Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) that the outlet is hallmarked by its “high professional standards,” KUNA reports.
Al Rumaihi is also cited as saying that through its diversity of written and visual offerings and news transmissions, KUNA is established as a household name within the Arab world and beyond.
Further, the QPC’s chairman praised KUNA for its time reporting of the AFC Under-23 football tournament being held in Qatar.
Qatar’s junior maroons reached the tournament’s quarter-finals stage unbeaten – winning 2 – 0 against Indonesia on April 15, 2 – 1 against Jordan on April 18 and settling for a goalless match against Australia on April 21.
Al Annabi’s dreams of lifting this year’s AFC trophy were shattered on Thursday. Unable to dodge Japan’s impressive control, team Qatar’s winning streak ended with a 4 – 2 loss after the whistle blew at 122 minutes.
Pride in local coverage, histories
Al Rumaihi also said he was proud of the presence of Arab media outlets covering the events taking place locally.
For KUNA, that journey started on October 6 1979 after an Amiri Decree initiated its establishment. It was designed to gather and disseminate news, especially about the Gulf state, to an international audience.
The news agency’s English service started in 1980 and currently offers 16 hours of news in English per day to viewers in Kuwait and internationally.
During the 1990 Iraqi invasion of Kuwait and the subsequent seizure of the agency’s archives and equipment, KUNA relocated its headquarters to London for safety – and, to not be silenced.
By November 1991, KUNA successfully transmitted 16,110 stories.
After Kuwait’s liberation in 1992, the agency’s main office was relocated back to Kuwait and KUNA started broadcasting at least 40 stories a day.
Over the years, KUNA has grown from strength to strength. By 2005, the General Assembly of the Federation of Arab News Agencies chose the Kuwaiti news wire to lead the federation from 2006 to 2007.
Pioneering leadership
KUNA functions as a branch of the Kuwaiti Ministry of Information.
Its organisational structure consists of a dual role of chairman of the board of directors and director general, alongside other appointed members based on nominations from the Minister of Information.
In November 2022, an Amiri Decree appointed Fatma Saud Al Salem as the director general with the rank of undersecretary.
In 2023, Al Salem would later become the first woman in the Gulf Cooperation Council region to be elected as vice president of the Federation of Arab News Agencies.
