Welcoming the guest, Uzbek President Islam Karimov said: “Mr Secretary-General, I am happy to welcome you in Uzbekistan. We highly rate cooperation and our general intention to develop our relations in opening and joint implementation of tourism and cultural-historic potential of our land.”

Taleb Rifai expressed gratitude to the President of Uzbekistan for warm reception and expressed interest of the UNWTO in deepening cooperation with Uzbekistan.

During the meeting, the sides exchanged opinion on expanding interaction between Uzbekistan and the UNWTO, as well as other issues of mutual interest, UzA reported.

Uzbekistan joined the UNWTO in 1993. The UNWTO is executive agency of the UNDP and leading institute in tourism. The organization unites over 150 countries and finances and implements many projects worldwide.

In 2004, the UNWTO opened regional office in Samarkand, which coordinates efforts of national tourism organizations of the countries, located at the Great Silk Road.