H.E. Abdulla bin Touq meets tourism ministers and officials from Bahrain, Uzbekistan and the European Union to strengthen partnerships

Discussions highlight the importance of Arabian Travel Market as a key platform driving sustainable tourism development

H.E. Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri, Minister of Economy and Tourism, held three separate bilateral meetings with H.E. Fatima bint Jaafar Al Sairafi, Bahrain’s Minister of Tourism; H.E. Abdulaziz Akulov, Chairman of the Tourism Committee of Uzbekistan; and H.E. Apostolos Tzitzikostas, European Commissioner for Sustainable Transport and Tourism. The meetings aimed to explore opportunities to strengthen cooperation across various tourism fields during the next phase and exchange experiences and best practices in sustainable tourism development.

The discussions took place on the sidelines of the Ministry of Economy and Tourism’s participation through an official pavilion at Arabian Travel Market (ATM) 2026, held at the Dubai World Trade Centre from 14 to 17 September.

Strengthening UAE-Bahrain tourism partnership

During his meeting with the Bahraini Minister of Tourism, H.E. Bin Touq highlighted the robust, friendly relations and close historical ties shared by the two countries. H.E. emphasised the UAE’s commitment to continually strengthening cooperation with sister countries across various tourism fields and opening new avenues for partnership and the exchange of expertise. This is driven by the Arab region’s diverse and unique tourism assets, including heritage, natural and archaeological sites, as well as promising investment opportunities that support the growth and sustainability of the tourism sector.

The UAE and Bahrain discussed strengthening bilateral cooperation in developing tourism products, exchanging relevant statistics and data, and diversifying tourism and promotional programmes. These efforts would contribute to increasing mutual tourism flows between the two countries and supporting the growth and sustainability of the tourism sector in both the UAE and Bahrain.

Meeting with Chairman of Uzbekistan’s Tourism Committee

H.E. Bin Touq’s bilateral meeting with H.E. Abdulaziz Akulov, Chairman of the Tourism Committee of Uzbekistan, discussed ways to expand areas of partnership between the two countries across various tourism domains. These include boosting mutual tourism flows and facilitating the exchange of successful experiences in the sector.

Bilateral meeting with European Commissioner for Sustainable Transport and Tourism

The Minister of Economy and Tourism also met with H.E. Apostolos Tzitzikostas, European Commissioner for Sustainable Transport and Tourism. The two sides highlighted the importance of holding this edition of Arabian Travel Market at this stage, given its role as a platform bringing together stakeholders from across the travel and tourism sectors, enabling the exchange of insights and expertise and discussions on finding innovative solutions to shared challenges, thereby supporting the development and sustainability of both sectors.

The two sides also discussed the importance of leveraging the transport sector to support tourism growth, enhance visitor mobility, strengthen connectivity between tourism destinations, and develop sustainable travel solutions that enhance the visitor experience and the competitiveness of the tourism sector.