The 5th Senior Officials Meeting and the 4th Ministerial Meeting on Tourism of the Organization for Economic Cooperation were held in Cairo, Egypt, from May 5 to 6, 2025. The event brought together tourism ministers and heads of relevant agencies from the organization's member states. Azerbaijan was represented by a delegation led by Kanan Guluzade, Advisor to the Chairman of the State Tourism Agency.

According to EDnews, in his address, Kanan Guluzade highlighted the government's commitment to tourism as one of the main sectors of the economy, stating that Azerbaijan has hosted several large-scale international events in recent years, reflecting the country's growing profile as a global tourism destination.

Guluzade also underlined Azerbaijan’s pivotal role in integrating tourism into the global climate dialogue, noting that for the first time in COP history, tourism will be included as a key item on the climate negotiations agenda an achievement made possible through Azerbaijan’s initiative as the host country of COP29. He informed attendees about the “COP29 Declaration on Enhanced Climate Action in the Tourism Sector,” which has already received support from over 70 countries. He invited D-8 member states to endorse and join the declaration.

Guluzade further extended an invitation to participants to attend the 13th session of the United Nations World Urban Forum, scheduled to be held in Baku in 2026. He emphasized that Azerbaijan is ready to enhance tourism cooperation with D-8 member countries within the framework of the organization.

At the conclusion of the meeting, the "Cairo Declaration on D-8 Tourism Cooperation 2025" was adopted. This declaration outlines mutual cooperation in the field of tourism and aims to create new opportunities for regional development among member countries. Additionally, the Turkish city of Antalya was designated as the D-8 Tourism City for 2025.

Madina Mammadova\\EDnews