The meeting, moderated by our Minister of Culture and Tourism, Mr. Mehmet Nuri Ersoy;
Deputy Prime Minister of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and Minister of Tourism, Culture, Youth and Environment Fikri Ataoğlu
Minister of Culture, Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts of the Islamic Republic of Iran Seyed Reza Salehi Amiri
Minister of Culture of Turkmenistan Atageldi Shamyradov
Deputy Minister of Culture and Tourism of Turkey Nadir Alpaslan,
Deputy Minister of Tourism and Sports of the Republic of Kazakhstan Yerzhan Yerkinbayev,
President of the State Tourism Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan Fuad Naghiyev
Director of the Tourism Department of the Ministry of Economy and Trade of the Kyrgyz Republic Kasymov Erdenet
Member of Parliament of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan Ali Zahid
Deputy Chairman of the Tourism Development Committee of the Republic of Tajikistan Ziyodullo Salimzoda
Chairman of the Tourism Committee of Uzbekistan Umid Shadiev
Secretary General of the Organization of Turkic States Ambassador Kubanychbek Omuraliev and Secretary General of the Economic Cooperation Organization Ambassador Asad Majeed Khan attended.
Speaking at the ceremony, Minister of Culture and Tourism Mr. Ersoy said,
"I am very pleased to welcome you in my country and in beautiful Erzurum, which was selected as the ECO Tourism Capital of 2025. Although ECO was founded in 1985 by Iran, Pakistan and Turkey, it has become an important economic and cultural platform with the participation of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Afghanistan. The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and the Organization of Turkic States, which are among the observers, have increased the organization's sphere of influence."
Also touching on the potential of our city in the field of tourism, Minister Mr. Ersoy said,
"Major events such as the Snowboard World Cup, Erzurum Gastronomy Festival, Traditional Turkish Sports Festival and Palandöken Economic Forum planned throughout the year are an indication of the importance Turkey attaches to ECO. These events organized within the scope of ECO 2025 Tourism Capital Erzurum will also set an example for future ECO Tourism Capitals."
At the meeting, it was announced that Lahore, Pakistan, was accepted as the ECO 2027 Tourism Capital.
