The Kazakh delegation headed by Vice Minister of Culture and Sports Yerzhan Yerkinbayev attended the meeting of the heads of tourist administrations of the states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in the Indian city of Varanasi, El.kz reports with reference to the press service of the ministry.
The event was also attended by representatives of India, China, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Russia and Pakistan.
The parties signed several documents aimed at strengthening cooperation in the field of tourism and the joint development of this industry in the SCO countries. Yerzhan Yerkinbayev also proposed to make Almaty the cultural and tourist capital of the SCO for 2023-2024.
"Today we can see the positive dynamics of development and strengthening of cooperation with the SCO countries in all spheres, tourism is no exception. To date, the visa-free regime in Kazakhstan is valid for citizens of 79 countries (including all SCO member states), work is underway to expand this list to 100 countries, and there are direct flights with 30 states on more than 100 air routes," Yerzhan Yerkinbayev said.
It should be noted that from July 2023 to July 2024, Kazakhstan will chair the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.