Ms. Firna Azura Ekaputri Binti Marzuki, Senior Assistant Secretary, Tourism Policy and International Affairs Division and Mr. Muhammad Aiman Bin Zakaria, Assistant Secretary, Tourism Policy and International Affairs Division, Ministry of Tourism and Culture of Malaysia paid a visit to the D-8 Secretariat on 26th May, 2017 and held discussions with Mr. Nasir Aminu, Director, accompanied by Mr. Muhammad Bilal Khan, Executive Assistant to Director.

 

During the meeting, the two sides exchanged views on possible mutual 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 expressed the willingness of their Government to share experiences and best practices with the D-8 Member States, particularly in Rural/Community-based Tourism, eco and sustainable/lung washing Tourism as well as spa and wellness Tourism. They expressed the view that Member-States’ engagements in these sub-sectors would strengthen economic cooperation and widen the Tourism sector network, which is one of the core D-8 Priority areas of cooperation, and position the sector as a major source of earning foreign exchange and job creation.

At the end of the meeting, the Secretary-General of the D-8 Organization for Economic Cooperation, Dr. Seyed AliMohammad MOUSAVI warmly received the delegation and praised Malaysia’s active role in the D-8 as one of the founding Members of the Organization. He also appreciated the critical role of Malaysia in ensuring that the Tourism sector was considered as one of the D-8 Priority areas of cooperation. 

Furthermore, Dr. Mousavi highlighted the importance of Tourism and its contributions to the D-8 economies. He therefore called for intensification of cooperation in the Sector so that the Member States could reap maximum benefits. He also praised Malaysia’s giant strides in this important industry and called on other D-8 Members to strive and emulate Malaysia, which he described as one of the “best in class” destinations in Rural/Community-based Tourism.