Baku, Azerbaijan, October 2
By Matanat Nasibova – Trend:
Russia and Azerbaijan are working on a joint project on the development of sea tourism in the Caspian sea in the framework of bilateral cooperation in the field of tourism and transport, Deputy Minister of the Russian Federation for the North Caucasus Olga Rukhullayeva told Trend.
The deputy minister noted that it will be a unique project.
"We believe that its implementation can bring mutual benefits and create a good prospect for long-term and effective cooperation between our countries. The project is economically demanded, in addition, it will contribute to the development of cultural and regional relations between the Caspian countries. The geography of the preliminary routes within the project will depend on the tour operators involved in the project. Ideally, it can be a circular route across the Caspian sea, which will cover all the Caspian countries," Rukhullayeva explained.
The deputy minister said that a cruise ship is already being built in Russia, which can be used.
The deputy minister reminded that discussions on this project were also held in the framework of the recent Russian-Azerbaijani interregional forum in Baku.
"The Russian president mentioned in his speech in Baku a serious direction for the development of sea tourism in the Caspian sea. We also discussed with our Azerbaijani colleagues the idea of creating such a project at round tables in the framework of the interregional forum. Following the meeting, we agreed with our colleagues from the Azerbaijani side that we will develop and synchronize a joint project on development of sea tourism in the Caspian sea," Rukhullayeva said.
The deputy minister noted that the task of the Ministry of Economy of the Russian Federation, together with the Federal Tourism Agency and the Azerbaijani side is to prepare the infrastructure in order to ensure that the route could begin to work fully in the foreseeable future.