President Buhari visits UNWTO headquarters in Madrid

President Muhammadu Buhari has paid a courtesy visit to the headquarters of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) in Madrid, Spain.

His visit was part of the activities marking an official state visit to the Kingdom of Spain.

In a reception held in his honor at the UN Tourism Agency headquarters, Zurab Pololikashvili, secretary-general, UNWTO, said, it was a great honour to receive the head of state of Africa’s biggest country.

Addressing the gathering, Pololikashvili said, ‘’Nigeria is a key member state for UNWTO and a founding member of the organization since 1975. And I would like to commend you Mr. President for your remarkable support as the first member state in signing the Instrument of Ratification of the UNWTO Framework Convention on Tourism Ethics 2020’’.

Nigeria is also an economic giant and has been at the forefront of innovation, technology and development in Africa.

The UN Tourism scribe believes that Nigeria can fulfill its unique potential to be more competitive and a key destination in Africa and can reap fully the benefits of the tourism sector.

He added that Nigeria’s commitment to the works and program of UNWTO is highly appreciated and the first global event to link tourism and culture and creative arts to be held in Lagos in November is a testament of support the west African nation has shown towards the development of tourism in Africa.

Read also: Nigeria to host global conference on tourism, creative industry November

Addressing the august gathering at the UNWTO Headquarters, President Muhammed Buhari said, ‘’The hosting right that was recently granted to Nigeria for the first-ever Global Conference on Tourism, Culture and the Creative Industry is another affirmation of the great confidence reposed in our country by your organization. The event provides yet another opportunity for Nigeria to market its tourism and creative industry assets to the international community.’’

The Nigerian president assured the leadership of UNWTO that, ‘’Nigeria is ready to host a world class conference this November, and we assure all participants from within and outside the country of a safe and secure environment as well as adequate facilities. We look forward to welcoming all participants to Nigeria.’’

‘President Buhari further disclosed that the global conference will also serve as an avenue to showcase Nigeria’s famed hospitality and warmth, highlight the country’s profile as a destination for leisure and business and identify investment opportunities, especially in the sector. The event will also strengthen the already cordial bilateral relations between Nigeria and the UNWTO.

The Nigerian president used the opportunity to thank the organization for granting Nigeria 100 UNWTO Tourism Online Academy Scholarships for the award of certificate on the ‘Introduction to Tourism-Industry Management’.

‘’I am reliably informed that the scholarship award was given in recognition of Nigeria’s efforts to empower youths and boost quality education in tourism. There is no doubt that this award will help to address the dearth of manpower in our tourism sector. I look forward to a stronger and more mutually-rewarding relationship between Nigeria and the UNWTO in the years ahead’’, President Buhari said.

One of the highlights of the courtesy call was the unveiling of a plaque by the visiting Head of State at the headquarters.

Lai Mohammed, Nigeria’s Minister of Culture and Information, who accompanied the President to Madrid, said Nigeria plans to leverage the global conference to showcase the best of Nigeria.

“We plan to leverage on the conference to showcase what makes Nigeria tick in culture, tourism, music, film, gastronomy, fashion, photography, etc, and why Nigeria has become a global leader in music and film, especially.

“Today’s visit of Mr. President to the UNWTO headquarters has given a great boost to our efforts to host a successful conference in November, and we thank Mr. President for taking time out to visit”, he concluded.