Saudi Minister of Tourism Ahmed al-Khateeb and his Greek counterpart Harry Theoharis signed Sunday an agreement for cooperation in sustainable coastal and marine tourism, on the sideline of the Coastal and Maritime Tourism Conference in Athens. The Kingdom and Greece affirmed their commitment to the sustainable development of coastal and marine tourism in their countries. The agreement dealt with exchanging knowledge and best practices in the field of investment, human capital development, training, event organization, marketing, and promotion to support sustainable coastal and marine tourism in Saudi Arabia and Greece. The Saudi Minister described the agreement as “a positive step” between the two countries, and one of the fruits of international cooperation that will achieve a “more sustainable future for tourism and lead to addressing the repercussions of the pandemic on the global tourism sector.” Khateeb stressed that the Kingdom is committed in its tourism projects to protecting the marine and coastal environment and supporting the sustainable development of the tourism sector. For his part, the Greek minister said that coastal and marine tourism is the backbone of tourism offers in Greece, and protecting the ecosystems is a priority. He asserted he is looking forward to cooperating with the Kingdom to ensure the sustainable development of coastal and marine tourism in the two countries. In May, the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), a United Nations agency, chose Riyadh for its first regional office in the Middle East and outside the Madrid headquarters. The Organization chose Riyadh to host its first-ever regional office following the Kingdom’s development of its tourism sector, noting the great Saudi support made during the coronavirus pandemic. UNWTO described Saudi Arabia as one of its most active members during the past three years. The new office will serve as a hub for UNWTO to coordinate policy and initiatives across its 13 member states in the region. This includes a number of tourism projects and products, among them the new “Best Tourism Villages by UNWTO”, launched on the occasion of the opening of the Regional Office.