A meeting of the expert group to finalize and approve the draft Regulation on the Interstate Program "Tourism Capitals of the Commonwealth" took place on February 12 at the headquarters of the Commonwealth of Independent States, the press service of the Organization's Executive Committee reported.
The meeting was attended by representatives of Belarus, Kazakhstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, as well as the CIS Executive Committee.
During the meeting, experts finalized and agreed on the draft document.
Considering that draft regulations on international tourism events and a thematic year in the tourism sector of the Commonwealth, as well as a draft Statement of the Heads of Government of the CIS Member States on cooperation in the field of tourism, were previously agreed upon at expert meetings, the meeting participants recognized the advisability of adopting (approving) these documents by a single Decision of the Council of Heads of Government of the CIS.
The Executive Committee of the Commonwealth, jointly with the Belarusian side, has been tasked with developing the draft of the relevant Decision.
It was noted that the draft Regulation on the Interstate Program "Tourism Capitals of the Commonwealth" was initiated by the Republic of Belarus. It was emphasized that similar programs in the areas of culture, youth, and sports have already proven successful within the CIS.
Participants estimate that the initiative's implementation will unlock the tourism potential of non-capital cities, have a positive impact on the humanitarian, social, economic, and infrastructural development of the regions, and will contribute to strengthening cooperation between CIS countries in the tourism sector and creating conditions for sustainable tourism development.
In addition, the Belarusian side proposed declaring the city of Lida, which possesses the necessary tourism potential to be awarded this status, the first Tourism Capital of the Commonwealth.







































