solhkhabar | Peace International News Agency Peace International News Agency , Peace News , International Agency News of Peace
The deal was signed in a ceremony on Monday by the Head of Kish Free Zone Organization Mohammad Ebrahim Ansari and Head of ECO Cultural Institute Mehdi Mazaheri with the aim of promoting tourism status of Kish Island at national and international levels.
During the ceremony, Ansari commented on Kish Free Zone’s policies and strategies to promote tourism, saying that shifting destination of Iranian tourists from foreign countries to Kish Island is among the organization’s policies.
Holding joint cultural weeks by Kish Island and ECO member states will help introduce tourism attractions to the people of ECO member states, Ansari said, noting that free zones in ECO member states can be identified to forge cultural, tourism and economic interaction between Kish and those zones.
The official said that establishing direct air links between Kish and capitals of ECO member states and setting up joint working group to attract tourists are among the undertakings which can help promote interaction between Kish and ECO member states.
ECO Cultural Institute Chief Mazaheri said that ECO Cultural Union is the second union of the UN in terms of population and geography, noting that cultural diplomacy is complementary to political diplomacy.
Since 96 percent of ECO nations are Muslims and speaking mostly in Persian language, grounds are prepared for forging valuable interaction between Iran and ECO member states, he said.
Given Kish Island's rich natural and tourism capacities, ECO Cultural Institute is ready for cooperation with the island to make optimal use of its cultural and tourism capacities, Mazaheir said.
The Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) is a Eurasian political and economic intergovernmental organization which was founded in 1985 in Tehran by the leaders of Iran, Pakistan, and Turkey.
It provides a platform to discuss ways to improve development and promote trade and investment opportunities.
The objective is to establish a single market for goods and services, much like the European Union. The ECO's secretariat and cultural department are located in Iran, its economic bureau is in Turkey and its scientific office is situated in Pakistan.
8072**1396
Follow us on Twitter @IrnaEnglish