Oman invites Tourism Minister Reddy

Panaji, Jun 20 (PTI) Union Tourism Minister G Kishan Reddy has been invited by Oman's Minister of Heritage and Tourism Salem bin Mohammed al-Mahrouqi to visit his country, official sources said here.

The invite was extended during a bilateral meeting held on Monday in Goa on the sidelines of a key G20 event being hosted here. Senior officials in India's Tourism Ministry and Oman's Ministry of Heritage and Tourism confirmed the development.

During the meeting, the two sides discussed areas of potential cooperation to further boost the ties, officials said.

"Medical tourism" and "cruise tourism" figured during the meeting, the sources told PTI here.

Reddy received a verbal invitation from the Oman delegation side to visit that country, they said.

At a press conference held on Tuesday evening, Reddy in response to a question, said that medical tourism and sharing of best practices were discussed during the meeting.

On the invitation extended to him from Oman, he said, "We will have to see about that in the future".

A person familiar with the bilateral meeting said, "Both sides discussed ways to boost cooperation in the tourism sector. Medical tourism and cruise tourism, among other segments, figured in the meeting that took place for about half an hour".

Reddy shared pictures of the bilateral meet on Twitter. "Held a bilateral meeting with HE Salim Bin Mohammed AI Mahrouqi, Minister of Tourism & Heritage of Sultanate of Oman on the sidelines of G20 Tourism Ministers Meeting in Goa.

"We discussed areas of collaboration across various sectors to further strengthen the ties between both countries," the Indian minister tweeted.

From the Indian side, the delegation included Union Tourism Secretary V Vidyavati and other senior officials of the Ministry of Tourism and the Ministry of External Affairs, the sources said. From Oman's side, senior officials of the country's Ministry of Heritage and Tourism were part of their delegation.

The tourism minister of Oman, among other G20 delegates, was accorded a rousing reception on his arrival in Goa on Sunday.

"Tourism Minister of Oman also urged that people of India should visit Oman for tourism, while underlining that India and Oman enjoy a good relationship," a senior official said.

The bilateral meeting took place on the sidelines of the events held on the first day of the fourth and final Tourism Working Group Meeting of the G20 being hosted from June 19-20.

It will be followed by the G20 Tourism Ministerial Meeting from June 21-22.

India is currently chairing the G20 for a period of one year starting December 1, 2022.

India's special invitee guest countries are Bangladesh, Egypt, Mauritius, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Oman, Singapore, Spain and the UAE.

On the first day, a session was held on cruise tourism in which Reddy delivered the opening address, followed by a panel discussion on the theme, which saw the participation of delegates from Mauritius, the US, Australia, South Africa, Mauritius, Singapore, Spain and Indonesia and India.

Oman is famous for its scenic coastline and beautiful capital city of Muscat, a popular tourist destination. PTI KND RT RT