Male (UNA) – Participants in the First International Forum on Promoting Integrity in the Tourism Sector emphasized the importance of the Makkah Agreement for Cooperation between Law Enforcement Agencies in Combating Corruption in Member States of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.
This came in the recommendations issued on Wednesday at the conclusion of the two-day forum held in Male, Maldives (May 6-7, 2025), which was organized by Saudi Arabia in partnership with the Maldives, in cooperation with the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and with the participation of more than 190 participants from more than 50 countries, including relevant government agencies and relevant international and regional organizations.
Participants stressed the importance of member states that have not yet signed the agreement expedite the ratification process, and the importance of countries that have not yet ratified taking the initiative to complete the ratification procedures to ensure the agreement's entry into force and its implementation.
Participants welcomed the adoption of the High-Level Principles on Promoting Integrity and Combating Corruption in the Tourism Sector, which will guide coordinated and effective efforts, enhance the use of information and communications technologies, and increase transparency and cooperation among relevant stakeholders, while supporting the United Nations Convention against Corruption and other relevant documents.
Participants recommended disseminating the high-level principles in relevant international and regional forums, including those under the United Nations, to contribute to strengthening the global anti-corruption framework in the tourism sector.
Participants welcomed the efforts made to collect good practices for combating corruption and promoting integrity in the tourism sector, and called on the next forum to develop a guide of relevant best practices.
They also recommended continuing efforts in the field of international cooperation between law enforcement authorities concerned with combating corruption to combat cross-border corruption, and urged States to participate in existing relevant networks such as the GlobE network of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and INTERPOL.
Participants called on the Globe E network to strengthen anti-corruption efforts in the tourism sector by collecting and sharing best practices and offering actionable solutions to address challenges.
Participants in the forum urged countries to cooperate with United Nations agencies and relevant experts to continue their work on measuring corruption and assessing the effectiveness of measures taken to combat it, including in the tourism sector, and to support relevant international initiatives, and to implement the "Vienna Principles Towards a Global Framework for Measuring Corruption" where appropriate, to achieve greater accuracy, reliability, and impact.
They also encouraged countries to attend and participate in future forums, building on the success of the first Global Conference on Measuring Corruption, titled “Harnessing Data to Improve Corruption Measurement.”
Participants called for strengthening and supporting tourism in OIC member states, which would contribute to achieving sustainable tourism growth. They also urged OIC countries to hold another session of this forum to exchange successful experiences and continue progress in this field.
Participants expressed their sincere gratitude to the Oversight and Anti-Corruption Authority (Nazaha) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Anti-Corruption Commission of the Republic of Maldives for their efforts and contributions to the organization and success of this forum.
It is worth noting that the forum comes in implementation of the decisions of the 2024th Session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the Second Ministerial Meeting of Anti-Corruption Law Enforcement Agencies in XNUMX, affirming the shared commitment to strengthening international cooperation in combating corruption and consolidating the principles of integrity and transparency in vital sectors, most notably the tourism sector.
The forum featured a number of sessions, panel discussions, and presentations that focused on the most prominent challenges facing corruption in the tourism sector, and reviewed national and international efforts to enhance transparency and consolidate the principles of integrity.
The forum also issued the "High-Level Principles on Combating Corruption and Promoting Integrity in the Tourism Sector," which provide a roadmap for countries to support their efforts to prevent and combat corruption and promote integrity, transparency, and accountability in the tourism sector, targeting public and private entities involved in the tourism industry.
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