The Saudi Ministry of Tourism announced that the Kingdom is elected head of the United Nations Executive Council of the International Tourism Organization, during the meeting of the 117th session held in Marrakech in Morocco in the period 23-25 November 2022, to become the first Gulf country to hold this position.
On this occasion, the Saudi Minister of Tourism and Chairman of the Executive Council of the World Tourism Organization, Ahmed Al -Khatib, said: “The Kingdom is honored by its election as President of the Executive Council of the World Tourism Organization, and we believe in the importance of the leading role of the organization and we look forward to cooperation with all countries, to support and develop the global tourism sector, and the Kingdom has always been An active partner of the World Tourism Organization by launching initiatives and supporting new ideas and opening the first regional office of the organization in Saudi Arabia to enhance its agendas and businesses in the Middle East and outside.
His Excellency added: “The World Tourism Organization focuses on promoting the tourism sector due to the importance of its role in stimulating economic development, and the Kingdom in turn supports these efforts completely, as it pledged to allocate 800 billion dollars in the form of government investments in the Saudi tourism sector by the year 2030, and the development that We seek to achieve it at the national and international levels are sustainable and comprehensive development and are flexible in order to meet the changing needs of companies and societies in general.
The Kingdom had previously held the position of First Vice -President of the Executive Council, but it is now replacing the Ivory Coast, whose mandate has ended as president of the council.
In its capacity as President of the Council, Saudi Arabia will focus on developing the meetings agenda and discussing the most prominent issues related to the tourism sector. The Kingdom will facilitate the holding of meetings and manage the dialogues with the aim of reaching implementable results.
The Presidency of the Executive Council of the World Tourism Organization extends for one year, meaning that Saudi Arabia will occupy this position during the entire year of 2023.
It is noteworthy that the World Tourism Organization is a specialized and affiliated agency for the United Nations, and it is a leading international organization in the tourism sector that is active in the field of attracting global cooperation efforts to deal with the issues and policies concerned with tourism.
The organization undertakes the task of developing tourism as a way to consolidate international peace and understanding and enhance economic development and international trade.
The Executive Council is the second highest decision -making in the organization after the General Assembly. The Council works to provide the General Assembly with recommendations for programs and initiatives in a way that represents the views of member states, in consultation with the Secretary -General.
The council meets at least twice every year, and it consists of members who are elected by the General Assembly in a way that reflects the geographical diversity of the member states of the organization..
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