Tourism Minister, D-8 Secretary-General Discuss Regional Co-op
Sherif Fathy, Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, met with Mr. Isiaka Abdulqadir Imam, Secretary General of the D-8 Organization for Economic Cooperation, and his accompanying delegation during their official visit to Egypt.
The meeting comes as part of Egypt's hosting and presidency of the D-8 organization's meetings held in Cairo on May 5 and 6, which include the Senior Officials Meeting and the 4th Ministerial Meeting of Tourism Ministers from member states.
Egypt currently holds the presidency of the organization from May 2024 until December 2025.
The meeting was attended by Ms. Yomna El-Bahar, Deputy Minister, Eng. Ahmed Youssef, Assistant Minister for Strategic Affairs and Acting CEO of the Egyptian Tourism Promotion Authority, and Ambassador Khaled Tharwat, Minister's Advisor for International Relations and Supervisor of the Department of International Relations and Agreements at the Ministry. Hazem Zaki, Deputy Assistant Foreign Minister for Regional Economic Organizations also attended the meeting.
Fathy welcomed the Secretary General and his delegation, expressing his pleasure in Egypt hosting this significant event, which aligns with its current leadership of the organization.
He emphasized the importance of the meetings in discussing ways to enhance cooperation between D-8 member states in the field of tourism, contributing to stronger regional and international collaboration in this vital sector and supporting the efforts of member countries to develop their tourism industries at all levels.
For his part, Imam expressed his gratitude and appreciation for Egypt's efforts in preparing and organizing this important international event.
The meeting also discussed the technical and logistical preparations for the upcoming meetings, including the agenda, discussion sessions, and key proposals to be addressed, which will later be incorporated into the official "Cairo Declaration" to be issued at the conclusion of the meetings.
In addition, the discussions covered the details of the planned tourism program for ministers and senior officials attending the meetings, as well as the criteria and mechanisms for selecting the 'D-8 Tourism Capital.'
It is worth mentioning that, Egypt hosted the 11th D-8 Summit in December last year in the New Administrative Capital, which was inaugurated by Egypt's President, who officially received the rotating presidency of the organization.
The D-8 Organization currently includes nine member states: Azerbaijan, Pakistan, Turkey, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria, and Egypt. The organization aims to enhance economic cooperation among its members and increase their contributions to the global economy.
Its areas of cooperation include various sectors, particularly tourism.
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