Kathmandu, The Rastriya Samachar Samiti (RSS) and the Qatar News Agency (QNA) of Qatar are signing the memorandum of understanding on news exchange.

The MoU is being signed in course of the two-day state visit of Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, to Nepal, according to Ministry of Communications and Information Technology.

The Qatari Emir is arriving in Nepal later this afternoon. Both State-run news agencies- RSS and QNA- will have free exchange of news service.

The MoU would facilitate the news exchange so that Qatari media would receive RSS news via QNA while Nepali media receive QNA news via RSS. The RSS was established in 1961, while the QNA on May 25, 1975.

Earlier, a meeting was held at the RSS central office regarding exchange of news between the two state-run news agencies, as well as the coverage of the state visit of the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani to Nepal starting Tuesday.

RSS Executive Chair Dharmendra Jha welcomed Deputy News Director of QNA, Yushef Ahmed Al Sayed, and expressed his belief that the visit of the Qatari Emir would further enhance the bilateral relationship between the two countries. Likewise, QNA Deputy News Director, Al Sayed, expressed readiness to exchange news between the two news agencies.