SAN MARINO: Saudi Arabia and San Marino, the oldest republic in the world, have agreed to increase tourism cooperation during a visit by the Kingdom’s Tourism Minister Ahmed bin Aqeel Al-Khateeb.

He met with San Marino’s Foreign Secretary Luca Beccari and Tourism Secretary Federico Pedini Amati.

Nestled in the northeast of Italy a few miles away from Rimini, a very popular beach location, San Marino has been an independent state for 1,720 years and has a population of nearly 34,000.

With its medieval buildings, fine monuments and iconic landscapes, it is a very well-known attraction for visitors to the Riviera Romagnola.

A group of experts from San Marino and Saudi Arabia will work together “to foster the development of an important sector for the economy,” according to a media event attended by Arab News.

Pedini Amati said further cooperation will be established “so that the two countries will deepen the knowledge of their respective challenges on the horizon and evaluate the opportunities for collaboration and exchange, and to consider the opportunities for mutual investments.”

Saudi Arabia recently launched its Digital Tourism Strategy, which is designed to increase tourist inflows. Riyadh is a candidate city to host the World Expo 2030.

Saudi Arabia and San Marino have begun to consider collaborations and common initiatives at the UN’s World Tourism Organization.

Pedini Amati will pay an official visit to Riyadh in June at the invitation of Al-Khateeb, who said: “Learning from San Marino will be an honor. We will work together to build better tourism.”

The Kingdom “can learn from San Marino, a historic country full of attractions, and from its long tourism tradition,” he added.

“This is the beginning of a long and successful collaboration, and I look forward to hosting Secretary Pedini Amati for the UNWTO meeting in June in Saudi Arabia.”