The Diplomat
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, and the Secretary General of the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), Zurab Pololikashvili, held a working meeting yesterday to finalise preparations for the UNWTO General Assembly.
Two weeks ahead of the UNWTO summit, Pololikashvili and Albares confirmed the “excellent institutional, professional and personal harmony between the two”, diplomatic sources told The Diplomat.
The UNWTO Secretary-General thanked Albares for his personal support and for the commitment of the Spanish Ministry and Government to the UNWTO, the only UN body with its headquarters in Spain.
In this regard, the same sources indicated, “the Spanish Government reiterated through its Minister of Foreign Affairs its unequivocal support for the UNWTO and its leadership, as demonstrated by the announcement made last September that the organisation will be provided with a new headquarters” at the Palacio Congresos in Madrid.
As announced at the time by the Minister of Industry and Tourism, Reyes Maroto, work on the refurbishment of the building will begin in 2022.
