Online Reporter
Ivan Zhakata-Herald Correspondent
Zimbabwe and Malaysia have made progress towards signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on media cooperation, with most of the proposed provisions already agreed, Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Permanent Secretary Nick Mangwana has said.
Mr Mangwana made the remarks in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, at the end of a four-day working visit by a Zimbabwean delegation to Malaysia which started on Monday.
The visit was aimed at benchmarking Zimbabwe’s media industry against Malaysia’s and expediting the proposed MoU between the two countries.
“Part of this journey is to build a collaborative relationship in the media sector between Malaysia and Zimbabwe and we are working on an MoU,” Mr Mangwana said.
“Most of the clauses have already been agreed on how we can cooperate in the media space.”
The proposed agreement is expected to facilitate cooperation in broadcasting, digital transformation, newsroom operations, media innovation, capacity building and professional exchanges between media organisations in the two countries.
During the visit, the delegation held meetings with Malaysia’s Ministry of Communications, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission and Radio Televisyen Malaysia (RTM), the country’s national public broadcaster.
The delegation also visited Business FM 89.9, Media Prima Berhad, Bernama TV and Multimedia University (MMU).
Mr Mangwana said enhanced media cooperation would complement existing diplomatic relations by improving people-to-people understanding between Zimbabwe and Malaysia.
“Even though we cooperate very well at a diplomatic level, if nobody is talking about it, then our populations don’t get to know about it,” he said.
“So now we just need our media to cooperate so that Malaysia doesn’t become a strange country to Zimbabweans and, of course, Zimbabwe won’t be a strange country to Malaysians.”
At Media Prima Berhad, the delegation held discussions on digital transformation, broadcasting, newsroom operations, media innovation and capacity building.
The delegation was also briefed on the New Straits Times’ KLIK digital archive, which contains more than 15 million documents, photographs and news articles dating back to 1845.
Mr Mangwana said the visit provided Zimbabwe with an opportunity to learn from Malaysia’s experience in adapting traditional media to technological changes.
“They have been very nimble and creative in keeping legacy media relevant while embracing new technologies to ensure they are where the audience is,” he said.
“It was quite a journey of discovery for us. We have a lot of takeaways to take home and incorporate into our practices.”
The delegation’s engagements also covered Malaysia’s digital broadcasting experience, including RTM’s transition to digital terrestrial television and its expansion into online streaming.
Mr Mangwana said media cooperation could also support increased tourism and educational exchanges between the two countries.
He said about 5 000 Malaysians visit Zimbabwe annually, while Zimbabwe has sent about 500 students to Malaysia each year over the past 17 years.
The proposed MoU is expected to provide a formal framework for closer collaboration between media institutions in Zimbabwe and Malaysia as the two countries seek to strengthen bilateral relations and share expertise in the rapidly changing media environment.
