Pakistan to host D-8 Ministerial meeting on tourism cooperation next month

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will host the fourth D-8 Senior Officials Meeting and third D-8 Ministerial Meeting on Tourism Cooperation for the first time in country on August 4-5, 2023 at Bhurbhan, Murree.

The meeting, being organized by Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC), will be followed by the technical visit to the Federal Capital – Islamabad on August 6, 2023.

It was decided in the 2nd D-8 Ministerial Meeting held in Malaysia in 2019 that Pakistan will host the 3rd D-8 Ministerial Meeting preceded by 4th D-8 Senior Officials meeting. However, the meeting was postponed in 2021 due to Covid-19 pandemic.

Awn Chaudhry – Advisor to the Prime Minister on Tourism & Sports / Chairman PTDC called on the Secretary General of D-8 Secretariat in March 2023 and decided to organize the meeting later this year.

Advisor to the Prime Minister on Tourism & Sports while chairing an inter-ministerial meeting here on Monday on the preparation and organization of the D-8 Ministerial Meeting in Pakistan said that the holding of 3rd D-8 Ministerial Meeting at Bhurbhan was aimed at promoting Pakistan’s tourism potential and exploring tourism trade opportunities of the member states.

The meeting can also open new avenues of socio-economic development, he added.

The objective of this meeting is to identify potential pathways (incentives and initiatives) to enhance intra D-8 tourism in line with the objectives and goals of D-8; to bring together tourism experts of member states to strengthen their capacities and develop effective strategies for post COVID-19 tourism era; to provide a platform for member states to exchange knowledge and best practices to facilitate cooperation opportunities and to explore possibilities to promote bilateral tourism among the member states.

The D-8 (Developing Eight) organization for economic cooperation is an inter-governmental organization which was established in 1997. It comprises eight developing countries, namely Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan and Turkey.