RIYADH — Tourism Minister Ahmed Al-Khateeb participated in the 52nd Pacific Islands Forum, which was held in the Cook Islands, to discuss ways of enhancing cooperation between Saudi Arabia and member states of the forum.

On the sidelines of the forum, which lasted for 5 days from November 6-10, Al-Khateeb held a number of bilateral meetings with the leaders attending the Pacific Islands Forum.

During the meeting, officials discussed ways to develop environmental and tourism contributions for a safe and sustainable future, in addition to reviewing the future cooperation prospects for a prosperous present and promising future for the Pacific Island countries.

The forum considered a number of topics such as peace, governance, security, investment, climate change, social opportunities, in addition to discussing boosting economic growth, improving the transportation links, and increasing trade and investment.

The Pacific Islands Forum is an intergovernmental organization established in 1971 and now includes 18 members, all of which are small island states except New Zealand and Australia.

The responsibilities of the forum is to work on supporting its member governments to promote the economic and social growth of the peoples of the South Pacific through cooperation between the governments of member countries and international agencies.