www.world-tourism.org The Parliament of the Republic of Belarus  unanimously ratified accession of the country to the World Tourism Organization, which will increase the number of WTO Member States to 146.

As the first representative of an international organization speaking at the Parliament of Belarus, WTO Regional Representative for Europe Luigi Cabrini hailed this decision, saying that "through its membership of WTO Belarus will derive many advantages for its tourism industry and for those other sectors that indirectly benefit from the development of tourism".

On the one hand our Organization will be a source of technical and strategic tools for the sound development of the tourism industry, and on the other Belarus will benefit from an enhanced visibility as an attractive tourist destination," Mr. Cabrini underlined, pledging support of the WTO for tourism development in the country.

Belarus as a Member of WTO will join the very active group of Members belonging to the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

Contacts between WTO and Belarus had already taken place with Vokrug Sveta, Affiliate Member since 2001 and with the Agro-and Ecotourism Society of Belarus.

The XV General Assembly of WTO held in Beijing, China, in October 2003, already gave its unanimous approval to the entry of Belarus into WTO, once the national admission procedures had been completed. With today's Parliamentary ratification, Belarus becomes a full member of the Organization.

With the membership of the Republic of Belarus, WTO will have 146 Full Members and the WTO Commission for Europe, which is the broader forum on tourism policy at the European level, will be composed of 41 States.