Organization of Turkic States (OTS) attaches particular importance to develop comprehensive relations with the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), which presents a key item of the Secretariat’s agenda in tourism that will certainly leave a mark on regional and global cooperation.
In this regard, then-Secretary General of the OTS Ramil Hasanov paid an official visit to Madrid upon the invitation of the then-Secretary General of the UNWTO, Taleb Rifai on 26 June 2015. During the visit, Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the two organizations was signed, which constituted the baseline of cooperation in the field of tourism.
According to the MoU, Parties agreed to
- promote close cooperation and consultations in the field of tourism,
- invite each other to the relevant meetings of common interest organized by two Organizations,
- organize joint conferences, seminars, workshops and similar events,
- coordinate joint training programs for tourism officers.
Following the signing of the MoU, OTS and UNWTO carried out joint activities to make further contribution to the empowerment of the Silk Road tourism.
OTS attended several events hosted/co-organized by the UNWTO and make several presentations on different occasions to promote Modern Silk Road Joint Tour Project.
The cooperation between two Organizations continued with reciprocal visits of the Secretary Generals to the premises of the Secretariats of each other.
Then-Secretary General of the OTS Ramil Hasanov visited the Secretariat of UNWTO on 15-17 December 2015, in line with the relevant articles to be included in the said MoU, officials from both organizations will be reciprocally invited to the meetings of each other at expert level.
Then-Secretary General of the UNWTO, Taleb Rifai paid a visit to the Secretariat of the OTS on 27 January 2017. At the meeting, Parties agreed to organize internship programs for the students from the OTS Member States and UNWTO expressed its readiness to support the Modern Silk Road Joint Tour Project.
Due to the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, joint events, projects and activities to be organized between two organization were interrupted, as most of the opportunities in the field of tourism, however, in the upcoming period OTS and UNWTO are planning to continue their close cooperation.