The two-day Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Tourism Ministers’ assembly started on Friday in Varanasi with a probable joint motion plan on the event of cooperation in tourism to be adopted throughout the gathering.

The plan will embrace promotion of the cultural heritage of the SCO member states, promotion of the SCO tourism model, sharing and trade of knowledge and digital know-how in tourism. India is the present chair of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). Union Minister for Tourism G. Kishan Reddy is main the Indian delegation within the assembly.

The SCO is a political and financial organisation consisting of eight member international locations — China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Uzbekistan, India, Pakistan and Tajikistan and 4 observer international locations. In phrases of inhabitants and geographical scope, it’s the world’s largest regional organisation, overlaying roughly 60% of the realm of Eurasia and 40% of the world inhabitants.

There are a complete of 207 UNESCO World Heritage Sites underneath SCO member states, observers and companions. Under a brand new initiative, SCO member international locations determined to designate one metropolis as cultural and tourism capital yearly underneath a rotating initiative. Kashi (Varanasi) has been designated as the primary cultural capital of the organisation.