Tourism Industry, Syrian Trust for Development Sign MoU

DAMASCUS, (ST)- The Ministry of Tourism and Syrian Trust for Development recently signed a memorandum of understanding to develop the tourism potential and rehabilitate cadres working in the field of handicrafts and craftsmanship.

The Minister of Tourism, Bisher Yaziji, has underlined that the memorandum of understanding is an important step for the development of tourism development and young human resources working in the crafts that make up the rooted identity of theSyrian craftsmanship in addition to being a gesture to turn a new investment based on a scientific basis that depends on the development of youth potentials in conducting facilities and existing investments.

For his part, the Secretary-General of the Syria Trust for Development, Fares Qallass, pointed out that that development work will not be effective without the cooperation with public and private sectors to  support the traditional and manual occupations indicating that some of the traditional occupations are endangered and the civil society has an important role in developing and restoring life to this craftsmanship under the supervision of the Ministry of Tourism.

“Joint projects were prepared with the ministry for training, rehabilitation and protection of the Syrian heritage from extinction and submitting it to the Syrian community in a new way,” Qallass said.

Under the memorandum of understanding, actual steps will be taken including providing centers for the practice of traditional crafts, selling their products and reviving the places of manufacturing of blowing glass in Damascus and all the provinces and the work on the restart in training of new artisans in addition to the participating in internal and external exhibitions by displaying  local products, traditional industries and crafts and participating in the coordination of festivals, which take care in supporting  environmental and heritage arena.

The memo also stipulated on the choice of some of the tourist places of archaeological and religious places and studying the possibility of investing them as tourist sites, holding conferences,  vocational and training workshops, exchange of expertise and developing private publications in addition to organize tourist tours to Arab and international delegations that will be invited by Syria Trust for Development.

Sh. Kh.