TOURISM Minister Dr Walter Mzembi’s bid to secure the post of Secretary General of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) received yet another major boost when he received the backing of the Egyptian government.
Egyptian Foreign Affairs Minister Sameh Shoukry assured Minister Mzembi of his government’s support, emphasizing that, as a committed member of the African Union, Egypt was bound by the unanimous decision taken by African Heads of State and Government at the recent AU Summit in Kigali, Rwanda, to endorse Minister Mzembi as Africa’s candidate for the top UNWTO post.
“Egypt is committed and bound by the AU resolutions particularly on the candidature of Dr Mzembi. We want to assure him of our support”, said the Egyptian Minister.
Speaking after the meetings, Minister Mzembi revealed that they had agreed on the setting up of the Joint Tourism Technical Committee (JTTC), which would be instrumental in the operationalisation and full implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding.
“We are definitely excited about our engagements here and one key thing that was at the epi centre of our discussions was the urgent need to set up a Joint Tourism Technical Committee that will spearhead the operationalisation of our MoU with Egypt.
“There are various programmes that will be implemented in the context of our MoU. One such key programme is the agreed Egypt Tourism Week to be held in February 2017 in Zimbabwe and the Zimbabwe Tourism Week in Egypt in April 2017 which, essentially, is a reciprocal event”, said Minister Mzembi.
The Minister added that, “this initiative, apart from cementing relations between the two countries, helps to boost tourism promotion and enhances cultural ties that are key in sustainable tourism development as this will be undertaken by tour operators, travel agencies and the media, among other key stakeholders”.
The Egyptian Minister of Tourism, Mr Mohamed Yehia Rahed said his government is keen to see the full implementation of the bilateral tourism pact.
“We are happy to be hosting Minister Mzembi and his delegation in Egypt. There is indeed need to advance close cooperation especially in the field of tourism as espoused in our signed MoU. Africa must do more in the areas of joint marketing and promotion activities if we are to increase our market share in terms of tourism global arrivals,” said Mr Rahed.
Minister Mzembi also met with Dr Moushira Khattab, Egypt’s former Minister of Family and Population and now the country’s candidate for the post of Director General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).
Dr Khattab’s candidature for the top UNESCO post was also unanimously endorsed by the African Union at the recent Kigali Summit. State Media