The World Media Summit has become a major platform to tackle global challenges facing the media, said Vitaly Ignatenko, director general of Russia's Itar-Tass news agency.

The upcoming Moscow media summit will bring together world leading news organizations and "offer them a rare chance to exchange views on media challenges in the 21st century," the Itar-Tass chief said in a recent interview with Xinhua.

Key topics at the July 5-7 summit include the transformation of traditional media under pressure from new media and the Internet, media survival models in the current economic crisis, journalistic ethics in a hyper-dynamic world, cooperation between media organizations, businesses and state, Ignatenko added.

Besides, the Moscow forum offers a good opportunity for journalists to share views on various topics from news reporting in hot spots to the evolution of global media.

Initiated by Xinhua news agency, the first World Media Summit in Beijing recognized the significance of preserving the traditions of ethical, objective and professional journalism.

Ignatenko recalled the opening address by Chinese President Hu Jintao at the 2009 summit, in which he called for world media to make great efforts and take their own advantages to deliver the ideas of peace, development, cooperation, mutual benefits and tolerance.

"The results of the Beijing forum showed that it was the best platform for sincere discussions on the most important issues of the global media environment and gave an opportunity for timely responses to the challenges the modern world produces," Ignatenko said.

For this reason, the proposal by Xinhua President Li Congjun for Moscow to hold the second media summit was supported unanimously, he said, adding that colleagues from Xinhua have assisted Itar-Tass in preparations for the event.

Russian leaders also supported the media summit initiative and President Vladimir Putin will attend the Moscow forum.

With regard to media cooperation between Russia and China, Ignatenko branded the results as "fruitful" and cited successful examples of the China Year in Russia and the Russia Year in China, as well as the Language Year campaign held separately in the two countries.

"Common experiences obtained will be used in the 2013 Chinese Tourism Year in Russia too," Ignatenko said.

Vigorous media interaction facilitates mutual understanding and people-to-people exchanges. Closer media ties will create favorable conditions for good neighborliness and friendship, and support the dynamic advancement of Russia-China strategic cooperative partnership, Ignatenko said.

Cooperation between Itar-Tass and Xinhua is another example of efficient media interaction, Ignatenko said.

"We consider our Xinhua colleagues as good friends not only by common profession but also by the long-time friendship between the two peoples," he said.

The two agencies have signed an agreement on cooperation which stressed their intention to boost professional cooperation in the information area and support each other as major sources of objective, reliable, timely information of social-economic life in the two countries.

As the host of the second media summit, Ignatenko hopes the forum could resume the constructive conversation started in Beijing.