Pakistan inks MoU to boost two-way tourism in SCO cities

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and China on Thursday signed an agreement to promote two-way tourism in Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) countries, a statement said.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Initiative on Establishing Cooperation Mechanisms among SCO Tourism Cities was inked online during China-Pakistan Two-way Tourism Promotion Conference organised by Board of Investment (BOI) from Pakistan’s side.

Fareena Mazhar, Secretary BOI, addressing the signing ceremony said signing of this MoU will prove to be a stepping stone in rejuvenating two-way tourism relations between Pakistan and China.

“BOI strongly believes that now is the time to join hands and facilitate two-way tourism related business initiatives between China and Pakistan, as the aspiration to promote the tourism sector comes from the highest office,” she said.

Asim Ayub, Project Director BOI Islamabad, on Industrial Cooperation under CPEC (China-Pakistan Economic Corridor), said Pakistan had immense investment potential in tourism sector and BOI was undertaking rigorous efforts to facilitate bilateral investment cooperation between Pakistan and China.

Aftab-ur-Rehman Rana, MD, PTDC (Pakistan Tourism Development Corp), Wang Rongguo, Researcher at Shandong Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism, Hao Guoxin, Deputy Director of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Demonstration Area (SCO-DA), Muhammad Ali Khoso, Managing Director of Sindh Tourism Development Corporation, Muhammad Tanveer Jabbar, Managing Director, Tourism Development Corporation of Punjab, Fang Peng, General Manager of SCO-DA, Wang Zihai, Honorary Investment Counselor of BOI and Director of Pakistan China Center, besides others representatives from the Tourism Departments of Shandong, Weihai, Rushan, Qingdao, Punjab and Sindh, were present on the occasion. Aftab-ur-Rehman Rana, MD PTDC said Pakistan was one of the few countries in the world which were blessed with diverse inventory of tourism attractions and unique endowments of national landscape features. Xia Peng, Director of Business, Tourism, Culture department of Management Committee of the SCO Demonstration Area, said the aim of the MoU was to market and promote Pakistan and China’s high-quality cultural & tourism resources, and facilitate the mutual understanding between the people of the two countries.

Muhammad Ali Khoso, Managing Director of Sindh Tourism Development Corporation, Pakistan, introduced the audience to the immense potential for tourism in Sindh. Muhammad Tanveer Jabbar, Managing Director of Tourism Development Corporation of Punjab expressed his views on the significance of the bilateral tourism promotion initiative and informed the participants regarding Punjab’s tourism resources.

He said it was for the first time the province of Punjab had collaborated with the Chinese provinces in the tourism sector in an inclusive manner. Wang Zi Hai, Honorary Investment Counsellor of BOI in China, thanked the BOI team for facilitating such an impactful online conference, and for ensuring the participation from relevant federal and provincial tourism departments in Pakistan.