TEHRAN - Iran has presented three proposals to the secretariat of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization to boost tourism among member states.

The initiatives encompass selecting an annual tourism capital, facilitating visas, and sharing scientific and executive experiences among the member countries of the organization, according to Moslem Shojaei who presides over the office for foreign tourism marketing and development at the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism, and Handicrafts.

The secretariat of the organization had designated 2023 as the year of tourism, said Shojaei who led an Iranian delegation to a recent meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization hosted by China’s Urumqi.

They invited members of the organization to Urumqi for a three-day event consisting of specialized meetings, the summit, speeches, B2B negotiations, and city tours to celebrate this event, IRNA quoted Shajaei as saying on Sunday.

“Additionally, they aimed to negotiate strategies for the development and enhancement of tourism among the SCO member countries.”

Shojaei emphasized that the specialized meetings of this event were conducted at a good level, with various delegations from officials of governmental and private tourism sectors of China, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Belarus.

Furthermore, B2B meetings and negotiations among private sector stakeholders in tourism were held on the sidelines of this summit, he said.

Regarding Iran's proposals for the development of tourism within the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, Shojaei explained: The Islamic Republic of Iran has put forward three specific proposals to the Secretariat of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

“Firstly, to ensure the continuity of programs and prevent the termination of collaborations, Iran suggests selecting a capital city from the member countries annually as the tourism capital.”

In this regard, we expressed our readiness to present the initial proposal and introduce our preferred city. However, this proposal needs to be approved by the Secretariat before being operationalized, the official explained.

Elsewhere in his remarks, the official said: “All countries emphasized the importance of enhancing tourism interactions. It seems imperative to improve tourists' access to the SCO region. Therefore, we proposed facilitating visa issuance, group visa waivers, or any process approved by the SCO Secretariat to enable tourists to travel more comfortably within the SCO region.”

Furthermore, he underscored the significance of education in the tourism sector, stating another proposal was for member countries to utilize each other's skill capacities and share their scientific and executive experiences. “This would enable other countries to benefit from these experiences.”

Highlighting Iran's recent membership as a full-fledged member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, Shojaei said: “Our ministry's general approach is to foster relations with various countries. During this trip, we endeavored to strengthen tourism interactions and collaborations with SCO member countries. Hence, we focused on expanding multilateral cooperation while concentrating on enhancing tourism relations and networking among SCO member countries.”

In July, Iran finished all the procedural measures required for the membership of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and became a full member of the regional bloc.

Iran’s membership was announced during the 23rd summit of the SCO in New Delhi. At the summit, Iran was introduced as the ninth member of the SCO, with other member states welcoming it into the organisation.

AFM