Athens: Meeting of Minister Stella Baltova with Ahmed Al-Khatib, Minister of Tourism of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

During the 66th session of the Regional Commission "Europe", of the  World Tourism Organization (WTO), of the United Nations, Minister Baltova met with his counterpart Ahmed Al-Khatiib, Minister of Tourism of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. He congratulated Minister Baltova on the achieved success and recognition for our country, after Bulgaria was unanimously elected Deputy Chairman of the Regional Commission "Europe" of the WTO for the upcoming two-year term of the commission. In turn, the Bulgarian Minister congratulated his colleague on the opening of the first regional office of the Organization in Riyadh.

During a working visit, by His Royal Highness Prince Sultan bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, brother of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the two countries reaffirmed their readiness to implement specific joint initiatives and projects in the context of the Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2016 for cooperation in the field of tourism between the Ministry of Tourism of the Republic of Bulgaria and the Saudi Tourism and National Heritage Commission.

It was also stated at the working meeting that the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between the aviation administrations of the Republic of Bulgaria and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is a step in the right direction and that there will soon be a direct flight between the two countries.

Ahmed Al-Khatiib said organizing a joint forum would help foster contacts and partnerships between the two countries' tourism industries. Minister Baltova stressed that Bulgaria has a variety of tourist resources and can offer tourists from Saudi Arabia a high quality and diverse tourist product.

The two discussed the possibility of a working visit of representatives of the tourism sector from Saudi Arabia to Bulgaria in the near future to get acquainted with the potential of the destination Bulgaria. The two ministers agreed that concrete actions are needed to promote business contacts between the two countries.