From 3 to 5 August 2023, Ambassador Azhar Mazlan attended the 4th D-8 Senior Official Meeting (SOM) and 3rd Ministerial Meeting on Tourism at Pearl Continental Hotel, Bhurban, Murree. The meeting was hosted by the Government of Pakistan in collaboration with Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) and the D-8 Secretariat.
D-8 Ministers for tourism, D-8 Ambassadors in Islamabad, Senior Officials from D-8 Member States as well as key representatives from private sector of Pakistan participated in the Meetings. They engaged in fruitful discussions on advancing tourism cooperation among D-8 Member States.
His Excellency Awn Chaudry, the Advisor to the Prime Minister on Tourism and Sports of Pakistan and the Chairman of the PTDC, chaired the Ministerial session. In his welcome remarks, H.E. Chaudhry briefed the meeting on Pakistan’s efforts to promote its tourism. He emphasized the crucial role of the tourism sector in the sustainable development and economic growth of the Member States. The PM’s Advisor also encouraged the Member States to further strengthen their existing cooperation in the tourism sector.
Representing the Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture of Malaysia, Ambassador Azhar stated that Malaysia looks forward to advancing regional and international cooperation in tourism by continuing to work closely with organisations such as UNWTO, APEC, IORA and D-8. He also strongly recommended continued engagement and sharing of knowledge among members, particularly in the areas of digitalisation, technology adoption and sustainable tourism investments, as well as emerging niche areas of growth such as Muslim Friendly Tourism, for the industry to emerge stronger and more resilient to future disruptions.
