Egypt's Minister of Tourism Rania Al-Mashat headed on Saturday to Azerbaijan to participate in the 110th session of the Executive Board of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), which will take place from 16 to 18 June in the Azerbaijani capital Baku. Al-Mashat stressed the importance of this visit in developing Egypt's tourism industry and enhancing cooperation between the ministry and international bodies and institutions, including the UNWTO, which plays a major role in serving the world tourism sector and enhancing tourism cooperation between member countries. Al-Mashat will also participate as a keynote speaker in a panel discussion entitled ‘Protecting Our Heritage: Social, Cultural and Environmental Sustainability,' which aims to explore ways to promote the tourism industry and achieve sustainable development goals, as well as discuss the role of the UNWTO, governments and the private sector in this field. The panel will also discuss policies that engage local communities as well as initiatives to promote social integration and gender equality in tourism. The Egyptian embassy in Azerbaijan is scheduled to hold a press conference in the presence of Al-Mashat and Egypt's ambassador in Azerbaijan Adel Ibrahim, with the participation of Azerbaijani media to officially announce the reoperation of Azerbaijan National Airlines (AZAL) charter flights from Baku to Cairo and the Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh starting 8 and 18 July, respectively. Egypt is a member of the Executive Council of the UNWTO, which consists of 35 countries. Egypt hosted the UNWTO's meetings of the Middle East Regional Commission in May 2018 at Sharm El-Sheikh and March 2019 in Cairo. Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi's met with the secretary-general of the UNWTO Zurab Pololikashvili in Cairo last March. The head of the organisation presented the Egyptian president with the UNWTO's shield in recognition of his efforts to boost tourism through the launch of the structural reform programme to develop the sector.
