Addressing the Third Eurasian Media Forum Thursday, Rapota pointed out that dynamic and effective business cooperation between the EurAsEC member states would hardly be possible without the reintegration of mass media.
The EurAsEc founding treaty, signed in 2000, is based on cooperation principles formulated by Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, Rapota reminded his audience.
In the three-and-a-half years of its existence, the Euro-Asian Economic Commonwealth has proved its worth, Rapota believes. According to him, The mass media of the organization's five member states have done a lot to enhance its efficiency.
"The path toward integration is a thorny one. To be able to follow it consistently, one needs great patience and constant readiness to overcome various obstacles. Global experience proves that this is not endemic to this country alone. All integration structures face [the problem]. And all of them use such an effective problem-solving instrument as mass media," the EurAsEC Secretary-General pointed out.
An intergovernmental agreement on media cooperation within the Euro-Asian Economic Commonwealth has been in effect since 2002, Rapota said. Under this document, the EurAsEC works to create favorable conditions for media organizations covering economic news in their country for its Commonwealth partners, he specified.
The EurAsEC Secretary-General called on the media to contribute to processes of integration, "first of all, as a subject of integration and, secondly, as an information landscape creator." There is now an acute lack in quality analysis of the Commonwealth's activity, Rapota said. But according to him, not only positive assessments are welcome. "What we need is an outsider's perspective, an unbiased analysis, a dialogue," he explained.
Rapota is under the impression that the topic of interaction with one's next-door neighbors is becoming increasingly popular with the media community and the general public.
The EurAsEC Secretary-General reiterated his organization's readiness for open cooperation with the mass media and expressed hope that the Eurasian media forum would give a strong impetus to the development of such cooperation.
