Turkey, Jordan agree to boost media cooperation

On an official visit at the invitation of Jordanian State Minister for Media Affairs and Communication Nabil al-Sharif, Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc held talks in Amman over the weekend. He met with Jordanian Prime Minister Samir Rifai, and the two discussed ways to improve relations between their countries. Arinc also had a separate meeting with al-Sharif. Speaking at the meeting, Arinc said on April 4 Turkey's state-owned media outlet TRT would launch 24-hour TV broadcasts in Arabic to audiences of up to 300 million people. "The new channel will further enhance our relations," Arinc said, adding that a new protocol between TRT and Jordan's JTV would improve cooperation. For his part, al-Sharif said that cooperation between TRT and JTV would strengthen ties between Turkey and Jordan. He said the media constitutes a bridge between countries, adding that a group of Jordanian journalists would soon visit Turkey. TRT head Ibrahim Sahin and JTV head Saleh Qallab signed the protocol in a ceremony which was also attended by Jordan's Media Affairs and Communication Minister Nabil al-Sharif. Arinc said this cooperation would bring Turks and Jordanian closer. Saying that TRT and JTV would cooperate on technical issues and programs, Arinc said the channels would shoot documentaries and introduce the two countries to each other. As part of his visit, Arinc visited a Turkish school and Turkish culture center in the capital yesterday. Speaking after watching student performances, Arinc said 115 countries around the world now have Turkish schools, and hundreds of their students take part in Turkish competitions every year. Arinc on Saturday also visited a Turkish military cemetery in the Jordanian city of Salt and laid a wreath at a memorial to 300 Turkish soldiers killed in action during World War I.