LOC13:35
10:35 GMT
KUN0037 4 GEN 0315 FRANCE /AFP -OWH1
MDA-UK-KUWAIT-BBC
BBC, Kuwait sign agreement to broadcast English service
LONDON, Sept 8 (KUNA) -- The BBC is to sign on September 13 an annex to its
cooperation agreement with the Kuwaiti Information Ministry allowing the
broadcast of the "BBC World Service" in English.
Director of Kuwait's media center in London Khalid Al-Tarrah told KUNA that
this issue was accorded special interest on the part of His Highness the Amir
of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah while in his previous post
of Prime Minister, adding that it came in line with his orders and directions.
He said the agreement was the result of fruitful cooperation of the two
sides and would allow for more cooperation in the future.
Al-Tarrah explained that the agreement was first signed in 2000 and allowed
the BBC to broadcast on the FM waveband.
Moreover, he said a BBC delegation headed by Director of the Middle East
and Africa Department Gery Timmnis would be arriving in Kuwait on September 12
to sign the agreement.
The agreement, he said, would include training ministry employees at the
BBC headquarters in London, exchanging expertise, and providing consultations.
For his part, BBC's Director of Radio Cooperation with the Arab World Hamdi
Farajallah stressed in a statement to KUNA the importance of this agreement.
He revealed that this would be the first time that a whole station be
dedicated to broadcasting in English from a GCC state, adding that residents
of Kuwait would be able to enjoy a range of programs in English with clarity
for the first time.
The broadcast frequency for the service would be FM 100.1, he said.
Moreover, he noted that the BBC was currently broadcasting its service in
Arabic on FM 90.1.
The signing of this agreement was further proof of positive and long-term
cooperation between the two sides, he concluded. (end)
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KUNA 081335 Sep 06NNNN