The two-day Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Tourism Ministers’ Meeting will start today in Varanasi. Union Minister for Tourism G. Kishan Reddy reached Varanasi yesterday to take part in the meeting.
During the meeting, the Tourism Joint Action Plan on the Development of Cooperation in Tourism among SCO member countries would be adopted.
The Joint Action Plan will include actions relating to the promotion of the SCO tourism brand, the promotion of the cultural heritage of the SCO Member States in tourism, sharing and exchange of information and digital technology in tourism, and promoting mutual cooperation in medical and health tourism.
Varanasi has been designated as the first cultural capital of the SCO.
India is the current chair of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). The eight-member countries of SCO represent around 42 percent of the world population and 25 percent of the global GDP.