Minister of Tourism Dr. Abdulla Mausoom has co-chaired the 35th Joint Meeting of the United Nations World Tourism Organization, UNWTO Commission for East Asia and the Pacific and the UNWTO Commission for South Asia.

The 35th Joint Meeting of the UNWTO Commission for East Asia and the Pacific and the UNWTO Commission for South Asia was held in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on 16th June 2023. Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture of Malaysia Dato Sri Tiong King Sing, co-chaired the meeting with Minister Mausoom.

The meetings focused on the tourist arrival updates, policies, actions and programs carried out in the countries of East Asia and the Pacific and South Asia for the past year. Discussions were also carried out on the UNWTO Programme of Work 2024-2025 and the long-term vision of member states.

During the meeting, it was voted and decided among the member states to host the 36th CAP-CSA Joint Meeting in 2024 in Cebu, Philippines and to host the World Tourism Day 2025 in Malaysia.

The meeting was attended by 102 delegates from 25 Member States, which represented 7 South Asian countries (Bhutan, India, Iran, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka) and 18 East Asia and the Pacific countries (Brunei, Cambodia, China PR, North Korea (DPRK), Fiji, Indonesia, Japan, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, PNG, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Thailand, Timor-Leste and Vietnam).