UN Tourism commends Ethiopia for expanding and diversifying eco-tourism destinations

Addis Ababa, February 5, 2026 (FMC) – Ethiopia’s President Taye Atske-Selassie met with Shaikha Al Nowais, Secretary General of the United Nations World Tourism Organization, in Dubai, UAE, to discuss advancing cooperation in capacity building, sustainability, and financing for Ethiopia’s tourism sector.

During the meeting, Al Nowais commended Ethiopia’s efforts to diversify and expand its eco-tourism destinations, highlighting the country’s strong commitment to sustainable tourism development.

She also praised Ethiopia’s extraordinary progress in developing scaled-up tourism infrastructure and destinations over the past few years and expressed UNWTO’s readiness to support Ethiopia’s efforts through capacity building, technical assistance, and global promotional activities.

President Taye highlighted the government’s commitment to tourism as a key pillar of national development, noting the success of eco-tourism initiatives across the country, including national projects such as “Dine for Ethiopia.”

He reaffirmed Ethiopia’s dedication to expanding its partnership with the United Nations to further enhance the sector’s impact. Talks also explored the possibility of opening a UN Regional Tourism Office in Addis Ababa.

President Taye, accompanied by a high-level delegation, is participating in the World Governments Summit 2026 in Dubai this week. At the summit, he emphasized that trust is the cornerstone of Africa’s global engagement, noting that partnerships must be built on reliability and mutual respect.

The summit, held under the theme “Shaping Future Governments,” features the largest international participation in its history, bringing together world leaders, policymakers, and innovators to discuss the future of governance and global collaboration.