President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has received a delegation led by Secretary-General of the United Nations World Tourism Organization Taleb Rifai

UNWTO Secretary General Taleb Refai recalled his previous visits and meetings with President Ilham Aliyev. He hailed the fact that a range of issues discussed during the meetings, including work on visa issuance and execution of low-cost flights, are being successfully implemented under the leadership of President Ilham Aliyev.

Taleb Refai said he was impressed with the beauty of Baku every time he visited the country.
The head of state recalled with pleasure his meetings with UNWTO Secretary General Taleb Refai, thanked him for supporting the development of tourism in Azerbaijan, and stressed the importance of his recommendations in this regard.

President Ilham Aliyev said tourism was always one of the priorities in Azerbaijan, adding the country`s fruitful geographical location, its beautiful nature created good opportunities for developing tourism industry.
The head of state stressed the significance of tourism in ensuring the financial flow to the country and creating new jobs amid the global economic crisis, adding that reforms in the field of tourism were continued in the country. The head of state expressed his hope that as a result of work done the number of tourists visiting Azerbaijan would increase.

They exchanged views on the issues related to the expansion of tourism services, coordination of tourism with other fields of economy, and improvement of tourism infrastructure in Azerbaijan.