NEW DELHI: ‘Kashi’(Varanasi) has been declared the first tourism and cultural capital of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).
The declaration was made by a meeting of the SCO heads of Tourism Administrations held in Varanasi on Friday.
“This recognition will bring the city to greater prominence on the global tourist map. The initiative will garner more attention by highlighting the spiritualism, mysticism, and learning of Kashi which is also the cradle of Indian civilization,” read a statement issued by the tourism ministry.
On the occasion, a joint action plan was also finalised and approved by the SCO tourism ministers.
Promotion of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) tourism brand, cultural heritage, sharing and exchange of information and digital technologies in tourism, mutual cooperation in medical and health tourism and improving the quality of services are prioritised components of the joint action plan.
Union culture and tourism minister G Kishan Reddy chaired the meeting with the heads of SCO Tourism Administrations in attendance. As per the agreed Joint Action Plan, the member countries will undertake various activities such as SCO tourism exhibition, SCO Food Festival, Webinar and Seminar on tourism, conference and expert session on promotion and development of tourism in the region, read a statement issued by the tourism ministry.
The meeting also adopted the Action Plan for “Year of Tourism Development in the SCO Space in 2023.” This document identified a list of activities and events to promote and showcase Tourism products of SCO member States.
A Joint Statement by the Head of the Tourism Administrations of the SCO member countries was also issued post the meeting. The next meeting of the SCO Heads of Tourism Administrations will be held in Kazakhstan in 2024.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is an intergovernmental organization founded on 15 June 2001 in Shanghai. The SCO currently comprises Eight Member States (China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan).