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AZERBAIJAN KEEN
ON TOURISM INVESTMENT
FROM ISLAMIC STATES
Azernews, September 13, 2006
 The Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) tourism ministers gathered in Baku on Monday for a meeting that is expected to boost cooperation and promote the development of tourism in Islamic states.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said in his remarks that his country attaches great importance to the group and the fact that its second high-level meeting is taking place in Baku proves that.
We are closely involved in the OIC's activity and trying to make a contribution to its development," he said.
The head of state noted that holding discussions in the Azeri capital promotes the country's international image. Azerbaijan is a very attractive country for tourism, as it possesses nine climatic zones and over 800 km of its territory stretches along the coastline, he said.
"There is every opportunity for tourism in Azerbaijan and major investments in the field are in the offing. The tourism infrastructure, roads and airports are being overhauled. The operations on building three airports meeting world standards are underway in the regions of Azerbaijan."
Aliyev said the government is doing everything in its power to develop tourism in the country. Moreover, the private sector contributes to its development.
Aliyev called on representatives of OIC states attending the meeting to be actively involved in the development of Azeri tourism. "The Islamic world is a powerful force that should be used efficiently," he said.
The president said the OIC is an organization uniting the entire Islamic world and its global image is rising by the year.
"The unity of Muslim countries is of significant importance. Historical relations, cultural ties and political interests are very important," he said.
The OIC Secretary General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu said in his remarks that the trade turnover among the group's member states is expected to rise by 20%. The measure is envisioned by the OIC's 10-year development program passed in 2005. The member states plan to accomplish the goal by 2015.
Ihsanoglu said the program also outlines steps to reduce poverty, open jobs and develop various fields of the economy, and tourism development is essential to reach these objectives.
The OIC secretary general said there were 800m tourists in the world in 2005. The share of the group's member states in worldwide tourism makes up 5%, or 40m people. 18m of them traveled from one Islamic country to another for vacations.
"The Islamic countries that send the most tourists include Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Bahrain and Kuwait, while those that receive most tourists - Turkey and Malaysia. The tourism infrastructure in these two countries enables them to compete with the world's developed countries.
The World Tourism Organization Secretary General Francesco Frangialli said tourism has been rapidly developing in Muslim countries in recent years and the group is implementing some projects in the field. He noted, however,
that serious obstacles for tourism have emerged, including natural calamities and terrorist attacks.
"But despite all this, the world tourism industry has managed to surmount the challenges. Tourism developed worldwide by 10% in 2004 and 5.5% in 2005."
The OIC chairmanship was transferred from Senegal to Azerbaijan at the meeting. Minister of Culture and Tourism Abulfaz Garayev, who was elected chairman of the conference, said Azerbaijan will step up its work within the organization, vocinig hope that the decisions it passes would give an impetus to tourism development not only in OIC states but also in the entire world.
A total of 38 countries took part in the discussions. The tourism ministers' fifth meeting concluded with the adoption of the Baku Declaration on Tuesday.
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October 2006,
Issue No. 42
Previous Issues
UNDP Azerbaijan Website
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ANNUAL FILM FESTIVAL STARTS IN BAKU
AssA-Irada, September 4, 2006
The eighth annual East-West International Film Festival started in Baku on Monday.
Movies shot in the CIS and Baltic states as well as other countries in 2005-2006 and films that won different international contests were shown free of charge in cinemas of the capital and the Ibrus Theater during the six-day event, the Union of Cinematographers said.
Three Azerbaijani documentaries and several feature films were shown during the festival.
Cinematographers from more than 10 countries have arrived in Baku to attend the event at the Heydar Aliyev Palace. The Azerbaijani film "Good bye, southern city" directed by Oleg Safaraliyev was screened on the first day of the event.
The closing ceremony of the festival took place at the Azerbaijan Cinema on Saturday.
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