At the opening ceremony of the Sari 2022 international event, Uzbekistan's ambassador in Tehran Bakhodir Abdullaev stated: “Tourism plays an important role in strengthening cultural and economic relations in the region and can have a positive effect on the employment of member countries. In the 15th ECO Summit, which was hosted by Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, the presidents of the countries emphasized the implementation of programs in the ECO member countries in order to develop tourism in the post-coronavirus era, and a document was drawn up in this regard.”
He added: “Uzbekistan, which holds the current chairmanship of the Economic Cooperation Organization, focuses on the development of tourism and recommends that pilgrimage and recreational tourism among member countries should be given more attention by increasing the number of flights.”
The ambassador of Uzbekistan noted: “The tourism industry has now become one of the priorities of our country and favorable conditions have been provided for its further development.”
Abdullaev stated: “The visa issuance law was passed to create positive conditions for the stay of tourists. Citizens of 90 countries can travel to Uzbekistan visa-free, the electronic visa issuance system for Iranian citizens has been launched, and the number of flights between Iran and Uzbekistan has also been increased.”
He further said: “The General Assembly of the World Tourism Organization is going to be held in Uzbekistan for the first time, and Iran also supported this. Meanwhile, in order to increase the presence of tourists in Uzbekistan, several festivals for Lazgi traditional dance, Eastern songs, gold, and jewelry, as well as several other events are planned to be held in Uzbekistan.”
The ambassador of Uzbekistan also stated: “I hope that the Sari 2022 event will make an outstanding contribution to the development of tourism in Uzbekistan and the region. The cities of Uzbekistan will always host Iranian citizens and we hope that the relations between the cities will increase.”
Abdullaev said: “Today is the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, and the presidents of the two countries exchanged congratulatory messages on this occasion. Iran was one of the first countries to recognize the independence of Uzbekistan and these relations are very important for us.”
In the end, he added: “While congratulating the officials and the people of Mazandaran and Sari for announcing the city of Sari as the ECO tourism capital in 2022, I would like to thank the general governor of Mazandaran, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts for holding this event.”