World Tourism Cities Federation is invited to conduct an online meeting with Ashgabat, Turkmenistan

Sincerely invited by new member and the capital of Turkmenistan, Ashgabat, and organized by the World Tourism Cities Federation’s (hereinafter referred to as “WTCF”) Secretary, an online meeting themed on "Promoting Understanding and Pragmatic Cooperation" between the WTCF Secretary and Ashgabat was held from 15: 00 to 18: 00 on May 21st, Beijing time. This is the first thematic exchange held by the WTCF with member cities since the outbreak of COVID-19. It aims to implement the results of the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, promote the agreement between the WTCF and Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and publicize the cultural background and image of Ashgabat to the world, especially in the Chinese tourism market. Mr. Gylyjov, the mayor of Ashgabat, Mr. Shamuradov, Minister of Culture of Turkmenistan, Mr. Myatiev, the senior representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan, Mr.Durdyev, ambassador of Turkmenistan to China and the heads of relevant departments of the WTCF Secretary attended the meeting. The languages of the meeting were predominantly English and Russian. WTCF Deputy Secretary-General Yan Han, hosted this meeting.

On behalf of WTCF Secretary, Deputy Secretary-General Yan Han first extended a warm welcome and heartfelt congratulations to the city of Ashgabat to join the WTCF. He systematically introduced the developmental history and projects of the organization, focusing on the international collaborative relationship, functionality of platform services , the research report system, and project cooperative capabilities of the WTCF. The heads of the relevant departments successively introduced multi-dimensional membership service projects such as the Fragrant Hills Tourism Summit, regional tourism conferences, media promotion, allied market statistics , member training projects and so on.

Mr. Gylyjov, the mayor of Ashgabat expressed that it was a great honor to join the WTCF, which would recognize Ashgabat’s status as an international tourist city. He introduced the background of the city and its tourism resources in detail. He also particularly showed great interest in the customized training programs brought about by the WTCF and hoped that this training could be provided for the city to enhance humanity exchanges and enterprise cooperation. Mr. Myatiev, the senior representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan, invited the WTCF to visit Turkmenistant in mid-Decemberof this year to participate in the international conference entitled “The importance of Neutral Policy and Its Role in Ensuring International Peace, Security and Sustainable Development", which will be held this year from December 11th to the 12th. Mr. Shamuradov, Minister of Culture of Turkmenistan expressed that the Turkmenistan government attaches great importance to the development of tourism and is looking forward to making Ashgabat famous in the world through the international cooperation platform of WTCF. He also stressed that Ashgabat has a very long history and is an important city along the Silk Road containing numerous tourist attractions, amazing hotels and infrastructure. The city leaders noted that they hoped to provide promotional photos and videos to the WTCF and was adamant about publishing them on the available media platforms.

The representatives of WTCF Secretary attend the meeting

At the end of meeting, Mayor Gylyjov emphasized Ashgabat highly agreed with the WTCF’s core vision of "Better City Life through Tourism", and that the city hopes to become a very active member of the organization, by making full use of the resources and services provided, which in turn contributes to the development of the organization and the international tourism sector. The representatives of Turkmenistan and the WTCF jointly expressed that this meeting was a great start in strengthening member interaction and enhancing understanding and cooperation. Both sides will continue to promote exchanges and collaboration based on the principles of mutual information, complementary advantages and resource sharing.

Online meeting between WTCF and Ashgabat