During the conversation, a number of issues related to cooperation between Uzbekistan and the UNWTO, as well as the results of the 25th session of the organization’s General Assembly in Samarkand in October were discussed.

In particular, Zurab Pololikashvili expressed his sincere gratitude for the high organizational work and constant support for holding this global event. He especially noted that “the principles and initiatives voiced by President Shavkat Mirziyoyev at the opening ceremony of the 25th session will become a kind of “roadmap” for the further activities of the UNWTO. “The proposal to promote “green” tourism deserves close attention as a new milestone in the development of global tourism,” Zurab Pololikashvili said.

According to him, the secretariat is currently developing a draft methodology for the introduction of criteria for assessing “green” tourism, which will become the basis of the International Program on “green” tourism. In this regard, he proposed to create an international center for “green” tourism, which will be funded by UNWTO, on the basis of the opening Thematic Office “Tourism on the Silk Road” in Samarkand.

Zurab Pololikashvili also noted that during the meeting with President Shavkat Mirziyoyev in Samarkand, issues of tourism development in the city of Bukhara and the Bukhara region were discussed. In this regard, he voiced his readiness to attract foreign investors to the region to implement projects to expand the tourism potential of the region.

Following the meeting, a ceremony was held to award Ambassador Jakhongir Ganiyev with a UNWTO commemorative sign for his contribution to the development of cooperation between Uzbekistan and the World Tourism Organization.