OREANDA-NEWS. November 07, 2011. Uzbekistan and France signed a memorandum of understating on cooperation in tourism sector.

The document was inked by Uzbektourism National Company and Secretary of State for Trade, Crafts, Small and Medium Enterprises, Tourism, Services and Consumer of French Republic.

The memorandum was signed within the 17th Tashkent International Tourism Fair "Tourism on the Silk Road", which kicked off in the Uzbek capital.

Rustam Mirzaev, chairperson of Uzbektourism National Company, said that the document will help to further develop and strengthen cooperation in tourism between two states and increase tourists inflow in both directions.

He added that currently France is the largest supplier of tourists to Uzbekistan. He said that over 1 million foreign tourists visited Uzbekistan in 2010.

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of France to Uzbekistan Francois Gauthier underlined that the document will assist to develop inflow of tourists from France to Uzbekistan. He expressed hope that Uzbek citizens will also actively visit France.

Mr Gauthier said that France is one of the largest tourism markets in the world and annually receives 80 million tourists a year. Gauthier added France has large experience in tourism and ready to share it.