WAM publishes news in 13 languages
UAE news agency adds German, Italian, Turkish, Persian and Hindi to now reach 142 countries
People in 142 countries can now access news in 13 languages from the UAE’s state media outlet, a senior official said yesterday.
“Emirates News Agency [WAM] has upgraded its news services to add five new languages, bringing the total to 13 languages covering 142 countries worldwide,” Mohammad Jalal Al Raisi, WAM executive director, told a news conference in Abu Dhabi.
The five new languages are German, Italian, Turkish, Persian and Hindi. WAM’s existing news service is broadcast in eight languages, covering about 100 countries.
In September last year, the agency had added French, Chinese, Russian, Portuguese, Spanish and Urdu to its services, in addition to the original Arabic and English.
‘Enhancing communication’
Al Raisi said WAM has now become the world’s second largest news agency, in terms of the languages it publishes news services in. “We plan to add new languages soon, making Wam the world’s largest agency,” Al Raisi said. In its first phase, the agency’s languages project was positively received in the countries, he said.
“We have been working to develop this project, adding five new languages covering 42 countries, which facilitates the broadcast of UAE news and its message to a wider audience,” Al Raisi said.
He added: “Phase one of the project witnessed an increase in coverage of the UAE, after news was translated to French, Chinese, Russian, Portuguese, Spanish, and Urdu.
The upcoming phase will see WAM strengthen communication with the countries where the five languages are spoken, Al Raisi said, revealing that the agency also intends to sign cooperation agreements to help spread accurate, credible and objective news.
“The UAE has come to assume a distinguished international position and is carrying on with its groundbreaking achievements across all sectors, guided by the vision of its wise leadership,” Dr Sultan Al Jaber, UAE Minister of State and Chairman of the National Media Council (NMC) said.
He added that NMC plays a pivotal role in highlighting the UAE’s accomplishments.