Tuesday, December 27 2005 14:46 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Chennai: The news agency to be floated by member countries of the Non Aligned Movement will become functional from March 2006, Malaysian Information Minister Sheikh Fadzir said here today (Dec 27, 2005).

Information ministers of NAM countries, at a meeting at Kuala Lumpur last year, had decided to have the agency headquarters at the Malaysian capital, he told reporters today.

All the formalities for setting up the agency had been completed, he said.

The agency would project the news of third world countries at the international level, he said, adding that news agencies from 114 NAM members would contribute news.

His government wanted to promote production of a Tamil TV serial there in a big way and had entrusted the job to a private TV programme manufacturing company - 'Promajestic'- promoted by a Malaysian of Indian Origin.

The minister suggested that 30 per cent of the programme be shot at Malaysia and 30 per cent of the cast be Malaysians of Indian origin. This would help better foster better understanding between the people of both the countries.

He said Promajestic would tie up with private Tamil channel Jaya TV for producing Tamil programmes, which would be beamed in the state owned television in his country, he said. Both companies might float a Joint Venture company in this regard.

The company would sign another agreement with ZEE TV for producing TV serials in Hindi, he said.

The Minister said he would meet his Indian counterpart, Priyaranjan Das Munshi at New Delhi this week.