Mujawar, while inaugurating the 2nd Arab Tourism Investment Forum here on Saturday, said the nation is pinning great hopes on this sector to boost the economy.

“Yemen’s climate, geography and heritage will make investing in tourism a goldmine. It is one of the promising sectors that could sustain development and fulfill our economic ambitions,” he said, adding that the government is seeking to establish full partnership with the private sector to develop the sector.

The three-day gathering is organized by Yemen’s Ministry of Tourism along with the Arab Tourism Ministers’ Council and the Arab Tourism Organization.

Earlier, Minister of Tourism Nabil Al-Faqih told Saba news agency that the gathering aimed at introducing investment opportunities, presenting experiences of tourism investment and benefiting from others in the field of tourism.

In the forum, Yemen will put on display 50 tourism opportunities, varying from pilot projects to tourism service projects.

As many of the projects are in the troubled regions of Shabwa, Mareb and Abyan, observers expect the continuing war on Al-Qaeda would put a damper on the discussions in the forum.