Madrid, 12 January 2022 (TDI): Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi, the Foreign Minister of Pakistan called on Zurab Pololikashvili, the Secretary-General of UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), today.
A great pleasure to welcome Minister of Foreign Affairs of #Pakistan 🇵🇰, @SMQureshiPTI, to UNWTO headquarters.
We discussed the emerging role of tourism for sustainable growth in Pakistan, and identified key areas for cooperation: innovation, education, investment. pic.twitter.com/edq5LwKoBD
— Zurab Pololikashvili (@pololikashvili) January 12, 2022
During the visit, Shah Mehmood Qureshi congratulated Zurab Pololikashvili on his re-election for the next four-year term, i.e. 2022-2025. Pakistani Foreign Minister commended the productive role of UNWTO in promoting tourism and preserving the heritage.
He expressed hope to benefit from the specialized knowledge and expertise of the UNWTO team in the development as well as digital transformation of the tourism sector of Pakistan.
Aside from that, the Foreign Minister highlighted the eclectic tourism potential of Pakistan including its religious relics as well as historic and archeological sites. He underscored that the incumbent government of the country accords high priority to the promotion of tourism along with sustainable development.
Moreover, it does so whilst preserving the social and cultural authenticity, national heritage, and managing ecological impact. The Foreign Minister informed the Secretary-General about the development of the National Tourism Policy, in line with the vision of the Prime Minister to boost tourism.
The Secretary-General on his part acquiesced that his team would industriously engage in support of the realization of the abovementioned policy. Furthermore, Shah Mehmood Qureshi also accentuated the liberal visa policy that the government of Pakistan has crafted to boost tourism and reinforce the country’s economy.
Lastly, the Foreign Minister of Pakistan accepted the Secretary-General´s invitation to attend the Joint Meeting of the UNWTO Commission on Asia-Pacific (CAP) and Commission on the South Asia Region (CSA) which will be held in the Maldives from 2-5 July 2022. The two sides also acquiesced to collaborate in the UNWTO activities at the UN Headquarters in New York.
