Leaders from the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) member states have gathered in Islamabad for the 23rd meeting of the Council of the Heads of Government (CHG), to advance cooperation in the fields of economy, trade, tourism, environment, and socio-cultural linkages, as well as to review the Organization's performance. The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) is the world's largest regional organization in terms of geographic scope and population, covering approximately 24% area of world and 42% of the world population. Sharing his views on the occasion of SCO Summit 2024, Managing Director PTDC, Aftab ur Rehman Rana said, “The rich cultural and landscape diversity of this region provides infinite possibilities for the development and promotion of tourism industry”. He further said, “Tourism is an important area of cooperation within the SCO framework. As a fertile ground for diverse civilizations, SCO countries possess nearly 150 world most prominent natural and cultural heritage sites besides thousands of other tourist attractions.

He stressed that tourism was an important way to promote international cooperation, mutual understanding and socio-economic growth between the member countries. He informed that in May 2024, SCO countries’ tourism administrations heads in Almaty, approved a SCO Joint Plan of Action in Tourism for 2024-2025, aimed at creating favourable conditions for a sustainable development of tourism, establishing a common tourist space, and ensuring a high quality of tourist services in the SCO member countries. Mr. Rana stressed on the importance of further efforts to strengthen ties in the area of tourism in the context of cultural and humanitarian interaction and as an important factor in the SCO states’ socio-economic development. He said, it was important to upgrade the tourist infrastructure with focus on quality assurance in tourism services, improve air and road connectivity to provide easy access to travelers, promote joint tourist products and routes and simplify the issuance of visas and entry/exit formalities for travelers.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan