KSA signs tourism pact with Serbia

The Kingdom signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Republic of Serbia for cooperation in cultural heritage promotion as well as tourism.

The MoU was signed in Belgrade, the Serbian capital, by Prince Sultan bin Salman, president of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage (SCTNH), and Rasim Ljajic, Serbian deputy premier and minister of trade, tourism and telecommunications, during his recent trip, said an SCTNH spokesman here on Sunday.

Prince Sultan arrived in Belgrade on Wednesday on an invitation from the Serbian deputy prime minister to enhance bilateral cooperation in tourism. The two leaders signed the MoU on Thursday which aims to encourage mutual investment in heritage tourism, and also hold joint exhibitions and conferences to bolster cultural ties.
The MoU aims to start the exchange of expertise between the two countries in the tourism sector, to rehabilitate human resources in the tourism sector as a growth engine for economic diversification and the ongoing rapid economic development in the Kingdom under the visionary leadership of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman.

The Custodian’s Program of Kingdom’s Cultural Heritage Care constitutes an umbrella for the promotion of national heritage and investment in the tourism sector.
The official said the Belgrade agreement will cover information exchanges in the heritage and tourism sectors for development, management of hotel and tourist resorts, monitoring mechanisms on tourist accommodations, education and training in the areas of heritage restoration and preservation and gathering data and statistics.

The visit opened up new vistas for bilateral cooperation as a joint delegation from the Balkan peninsula, comprising delegates from Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, will visit the Kingdom soon to further bolster cultural ties especially in the field of tourism.
Prince Sultan met with Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic in Belgrade and discussed mutual relations and ways of cooperation between the two countries to bolster ties.