On December 19, the UN General Assembly adopted a special resolution “Sustainable tourism and sustainable development in Central Asia”. The draft document, developed by Uzbekistan and introduced on behalf of all five Central Asian countries, was unanimously supported by all UN member states, the Foreign Ministry reported.

The initiative for the UN General Assembly to adopt this resolution was first put forward by the President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev in April this year in Beijing at a meeting with UN Secretary General António Guterres as part of the international forum “One belt, one road”.

Over 50 countries of North and Latin America, Asia, Africa and other continents acted as co-authors of the document, which testifies to the wide recognition by the international community of the relevance and timeliness of the initiative of the Uzbek leader. Such states as Brazil, Vietnam, Indonesia, India, Ireland, Israel, China, Canada, Norway, Morocco, the Republic of Korea, Russia, Singapore, Senegal, Turkey and others are among the co-authors. 

According to the UNWTO, the tourism sector accounts for about 7% of world exports, one of eleven jobs and 10% of world GDP. Tourism is integrated in 400 industries, annually provides more than $1.5 trillion in revenue and is actually the only industry in the world that has shown steady growth in recent years.

The resolution adopted by the General Assembly emphasizes the importance of the efforts of CA countries to implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, various international events for the further development of tourism in the region, as well as measures taken by the Central Asian states to widely attract international finance and investment in the tourism sector.

According to the document, the passage of the Great Silk Road through Central Asia and efforts to promote tourism in world markets contribute to the growth of interest of foreign tourists in the region.

In addition, in the resolution, UN member states welcome the significant practical contribution of Central Asian countries to strengthening regional stability and sustainable development, and also declare their full support for efforts and initiatives aimed at strengthening economic cooperation in the region.

The document encourages member states to take part in major events that can help promote tourism in the region.