Meeting of Pavel Latushka with the Secretary-General of the World Tourism Organization
20.10.2015 г.October 20, 2015, the Ambassador of Belarus in France and Spain (non-resident) Pavel Latushka met with the Secretary General of the World Tourism Organization Taleb Rifai in Madrid.
During the meeting Pavel Latushka and Taleb Rifai discussed the implementation of agreements reached during the visit of the UNWTO Secretary-General in Minsk, in April 2015.
Mr.Rifai stressed his appreciation of the results of the talks in Minsk in the Government, in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in the Ministry of Sports and Tourism, in the National Olympic Committee of Belarus. He noted that he was impressed by Belarus as a country with a rich history and culture that has great potential for tourism development.
During the meeting, the UNWTO Secretary-General noted the readiness of the Organization to assist to the Belarus in the development of the law on tourism, as well as the Government's program of tourism development in Belarus for 2016-2020 years.
Taleb Rifai said that in the near future, the World Tourism Organization will send a mission of experts to Belarus for the assessment and development of the methodology of tourism statistics in Belarus.
The Ambassador of Belarus and the UNWTO Secretary-General discussed the possibility to organize an international conference on tourism and sport in Belarus.
Special attention was focused on the issues of liberalization of visa regime for tourists visiting Belarus. Mr.Rifai expressed his readiness to send to the Belarusian side a proposal, prepared by the UNWTO.
Pavel Latushka and Taleb Rifai agreed to explore the possibility of the internships in the UNWTO for Belarusian students that are learning tourism issues, as well as for the representatives of the tourism sector of Belarus.
During the meeting it was also agreed to organize a visit of the high-ranking representatives of the Ministry of sports and tourism in Madrid to discuss the extension of the cooperation with the UNWTO and the organization of the presentation of tourism opportunities in Belarus.
