UNWTO Secretary-General Taleb Rifai and Casa Arabe Director General Eduardo Lopez Busquets have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to promote sustainable tourism development and strengthen institutional capacity in Arab countries.

Signed at UNWTO headquarters in Madrid, the Memorandum furthers cooperation between UNWTO and Casa Arabe in common interest areas, including sustainable tourism and institutional capacity building aimed towards socioeconomic growth and poverty alleviation.

The agreement places a special focus on improving public policy and management models for tourism development and promotion, as well as supporting strategic alliances within the framework of marketing and investment in Arab countries to foster economic progress and job creation.
“This agreement is a positive step in developing tourism as an effective instrument for economic growth, inclusive development and environmental sustainability in the Arab world,” said the UNWTO Secretary-General.

“Tourism development involves the expansion of trade between our societies at all levels: economic, cultural and sociopolitical, three dimensions that constitute the core work of Casa Arabe,” said Eduardo Lopez Busquets, Director General of Casa Arabe.

Casa Arabe and its International Institute of Arab and Muslim World Studies is a consortium of Spain´s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, the Spanish Agency for International Development (AECID), the autonomous communities of Madrid and Andalusia and the town councils of Madrid and Cordoba. Its main goals include strengthening bilateral and multilateral policies and promoting economic, cultural and educational relations in the Arab and Muslim world.