Baghdad named Capital of Arab Media 2018

This decision came at the conclusion of the 48th ordinary session of the Council of Arab Information Ministers which was held today at the headquarter of the General Secretariat of the Arab League in Cairo and which was chaired by Tunisia, according to a statement by the Arab League.
The council chose to form a new executive office for the next two years under the chairmanship of Saudi Arabia, with Sudan as deputy chair, and the membership of Egypt, the UAE, Jordan, Somalia, Iraq and Mauritania, according to the same source.
Cities in both Saudi Arabia and Iraq were nominated for the post of Capital of Arab Media.
The Capital of Arab Media is to raise the efficiency of media and media professionals in the Arab countries through training and workshops as well as discussions and dialogue on a range of issues.
The idea began in mid 2010, when the Bahraini capital, Manama, was chosen in 2013 as the first Capital of Arab Media.
Last year, the Executive Council of Arab Information Ministers chose Jerusalem as the Arab Media Capital for 2017, before the Council announced in November of the same year that the city itself would be a permanent capital of Arab media in support of the Palestinian cause.
In parallel with Jerusalem, another Arab capital will be chosen each year so as to tackle the Arab issues and the challenges facing Arab nation.