TEHRAN – Iran’s provincial diplomacy could help attract more foreign tourists, expand medical tourism and boost handicraft exports through stronger cross-border cooperation with neighboring countries, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has said.
Speaking to the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts’ news outlet, Miras Aria, Araghchi highlighted the potential for closer cooperation between his ministry and the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts, particularly amid the economic challenges facing the country.
He said cooperation between the two ministries already covered several areas, including tourism, handicrafts and cultural heritage. The Foreign Ministry also supports efforts to attract international visitors through visa-related services and international marketing, drawing on Iran’s diplomatic missions abroad.
In the handicrafts sector, the ministry’s economic diplomacy division helps promote exports and expand trade relations, while the two ministries also cooperate in introducing and help registering Iran’s cultural heritage internationally, he added.
Araghchi said the ministries’ international affairs departments maintain close working relations, noting that a joint meeting of their deputy ministers had recently been held to explore opportunities for further cooperation.
He said a recent meeting with managers of the cultural heritage and tourism ministry had focused on ways to support the national economy through tourism development and handicraft exports amid the country’s wartime conditions and the uncertainty of the current situation.
