On 9 May 2018, a meeting of the SCO National Tourism Agency Heads took place in Wuhan, China.
The meeting was attended by Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology, Culture, and Tourism of India K.J. Alphons; Vice Minister of Culture and Sports of Kazakhstan Yerlan Kozhagapanov; Deputy Minister of Culture and Tourism of China Li Jinzao; Deputy Minister of Culture, Information and Tourism of Kyrgyzstan, Director of the Department of Tourism Azamat Zhamankulov; Minister Counsellor of the Embassy of Pakistan in China Mumtaz Baloch; Deputy Head of the Russian Federal Tourism Agency Nikolai Korolyov; Chairman of the Committee for Tourism Development under the Government of Tajikistan Numon Abdugafforzoda; Chairman of the State Committee for Tourism Development of Uzbekistan Aziz Abdukhakimov, and SCO Deputy Secretary-General Aziz Nosirov attended the meeting.
The meeting was chaired by Chinese Deputy Minister of Culture and Tourism Li Jinzao.
The participants welcomed the progress made in tourism cooperation in the SCO and exchanged information on national tourism development as well as opinions on the deepening of cooperation, including new directions and practical content.
The heads of the delegations examined and approved the draft joint action plan on the implementation of the SCO Tourism Cooperation Programme for 2019-2020. They decided to submit the document for signing at the SCO Summit in Qingdao.
Taking into account the importance of further implementation of the SCO Tourism Cooperation Development Programme, (Tashkent, 24 June 2016), the heads of the delegations recommended the SCO Secretariat discuss the issue of establishing relations with the UN World Tourism Organisation.
The meeting was held in a businesslike and constructive atmosphere of friendship, mutual trust and cooperation. The heads of the delegations thanked China for the high standard of the event's organisation and the hospitality.
The participants approved the positive work done by the SCO Tourism Cooperation Expert Working Group in preparation for the meeting.
The time and place of the next meeting will be agreed upon via the SCO Secretariat.