The Undersecretary of Tourism Policy and International Affairs Division of Malaysia, Mr. Mohammed Daud Mohammed Arif paid an official visit to the D-8 Secretariat on 16th February, 2018 and held constructive and fruitful discussions in a pleasant environment with the D-8 Secretary-General, Ambassador Dato’ Ku Jaafar Ku Shaari.

 

During the meeting, they exchanged views on possible cooperation and experience sharing in the field of Tourism and the role of the Ministry of Tourism and Culture of Malaysia in promoting a variety of Tourism activities in Malaysia. The Malaysian officials confirmed preparations by Malaysia to host the 2nd Trade Ministerial Meeting on Tourism and Work shop on Tourism tentatively from 09-12 July, 2018 in Kuala Lumpur in order to share the experiences and best practices of the Malaysian Tourism Sector with the D-8 Member States. They discussed the importance of cooperation in the tourism sector and Secretary General shared his valuable ideas for promoting cooperation in the sector among D-8 Member States. He also stressed that public and private Sector collaboration would strengthen economic cooperation and widen the tourism sector network, which is one of the D-8 Priority areas of cooperation, and position the sector as a major source of foreign exchange earnings and job creation. Ambassador Ku Jaafar also spoke about the “Crescent Route to Success and Prosperity” as a theme for cooperation in all fields based on the geographical positions of the D-8 Member States and also emphasized the importance of people-to-people contacts. 

Furthermore, Secretary-General emphasized the importance of tourism and its contributions to the economies of D-8 Member States. He therefore called for strengthening of cooperation in the Sector so that the Member States could reap maximum benefits. He also praised Malaysia’s success in this important industry and called on other D-8 Members to strive and develop the sector as Malaysia and some other members have done.