TUNIS
Tunisian political leaders have paid tribute to Anadolu Agency for choosing Tunisia to be the launch base of its newly-inaugurated French service wire, which has officially started its work on Sunday.
"Tunisians are happy and proud that their country was chosen to host Anadolu Agency's French desk office," leader of Tunisia's Islamist Ennahda movement Rachid Ghannouchi told Anadolu Agency.
"We have hopes that the agency will bring Africa to the heart of Turkey and the heart of the rest of the world as well," he added.
Ghannouchi said he also has hopes that Anadolu Agency will function as a bridge between Asia and Africa and between Turkey and Africa.
Meanwhile, head of the opposition Call for Tunisia movement Beji Caid al-Sebsi said the presence of Anadolu Agency's French desk in Tunisia would boost "solidarity" and "cooperation" between Tunisia and Turkey.
Al-Sebsi said Turkish-Tunisian relations are deep-rooted, expressing hopes that these ties would continue to be strong in the future.
"Media is an inseparable part of the struggle for progress and welfare," al-Sebsi told AA. "There can be no democracy without media," he added.
Anadolu Agency (AA) started broadcasting stories in French on Sunday as the agency marks the 94th anniversary of the its foundation.
The agency will broadcast news stories in French on its online website - www.aa.com.tr/fr - as part of its centennial vision to rank among the world's five most influential news agencies by 2020.
AA aims to broadcast news in 11 languages by 2020, when it will be 100-years old.
French is Anadolu Agency's seventh broadcast language following the launch of Turkish, English, Arabic, Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian (BCS), Russian and Kurdish services.
By Seif Eddin Tarabolsi
englishnews@aa.com.tr
