Seyed Reza Salehi Amiri wrote in an article published on Iran newspaper on Wednesday that the 26th General Assembly of the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) in Riyadh created “a unique opportunity for the Islamic Republic of Iran to redefine its strategic position” in global tourism in a world that is constantly redefining political, economic, and cultural boundaries.
He said Iran held strategic, cultural, civilizational and economic meetings with senior tourism officials from China, India, Indonesia, Oman, Armenia, Uzbekistan, Cambodia and Saudi Arabia on the sidelines of the assembly, noting that the talks outlined a bright horizon of cooperation, trust, and interaction between Iran and other nations.
In his meeting with China’s tourism minister, Salehi Amiri said, even a one-percent share of the Chinese tourism market means two million tourists for Iran, a transformation both economically and civilizationally.
He added that the real value lies not in numbers but in the quality of mutual trust and cultural understanding that can deepen strategic relations between the two countries.
He described discussions with India’s tourism minister as “a deep civilizational message,” saying that the two ancient nations could “revive their shared cultural roots through tourism.”
Talks with Indonesia, he said, emphasized Islamic tourism as “a strategic project for the Muslim world,” where Iran could act as the center of “a new Islamic and human discourse.”
According to the minister, meetings with regional countries such as Oman, Armenia, and Uzbekistan focused on practical cooperation, including direct flights, sea tourism, car rallies, and joint exhibitions.
He said the meeting with Saudi Arabia’s tourism minister was one of the most significant and influential and could serve as “a platform for rebuilding trust between the two Muslim nations.”
Salehi Amiri also thanked current UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili for his “role in leading the organization toward transparency and mutual trust” and expressed Iran’s readiness to cooperate with the incoming secretary-general, Sheikha Nasser Al Nuaimi.
He concluded that Iran, drawing on its ancient heritage and modern technological capacities, “spoke of bridges, not walls” at the UNWTO assembly, stressing that “the future of tourism belongs to nations that know and respect one another and move with wisdom, ethics, and understanding.”
IRNA