WION and Sputnik announce partnership at Eastern Economic Forum in Russia

Indian news channel WION and Russian agency Sputnik exchanged letters of intent on the sidelines of  Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) in Russia's Vladivostok, where PM Narendra Modi was for a 36-hour short visit recently.

The newly-announced tie-up forms a mutual partnership between Federal State Unitary Enterprise Rossiya Segodbya International Information Agency, founder of the Russian media outlet (SPUTNIK) information agency and Zee Media Corporation Limited's entity WION.

Sputnik and WION have joined hands in an aim to promote digital and broadcast content of the two nations with technologically enhanced communication. The media partnership is part of the bilateral agreement between India and Russia and focuses on the creation of an interactive platform towards "communicating cultures and consolidating partnerships."

Speaking on the partnership, Sudhir Chaudhary, Editor-in-Chief, WION, said, "A glorious friendship that has withstood the test of time and vagaries of history embarks on a journey to deepen mutual respect through culture, education, and science. This new era of bilateral cooperation promises to be a model for the world and will demonstrate the importance of soft power in a complex geopolitical landscape."

The partnership will focus on the creation of an interactive platform that develops rich content in all forms to ensure an improved understanding of the socio-cultural values of the two nations with a view towards harnessing technological innovation while delivering accurate content. The exchange of content would involve topics relating to cultural, humanitarian, economic, sports and political events.

Vasily Pushkov, Sputnik Head of International Projects said, "The ties between Russia and India are very strong historically, and our cooperation will meet this high standard. The Indian media field has requested for news content from our country, and we hope that we can satisfy the needs of the audience," at a letter-exchange ceremony between WION and Sputnik at Vladivostok.

The partnership is meant to uplift the spirit of friendship and cooperation between the two great nations - Russia and India.

WION is India’s first news channel dedicated to putting forth India’s perspective on emerging global issues to the world. It was inaugurated by the honourable Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi and former President of India Pranab Mukherjee in 2016.

Sputnik is one of the largest international media houses combining multimedia and regional Internet sites in 32 languages including in analogue and digital broadcasting in Russian, English, French and other languages ​​in more than 90 cities around the world and on the Internet.