The Tourism Ministers of Israel and Mongolia on Tuesday signed a tourism cooperation agreement to encourage tourism between the countries which will allow the peoples to learn about each other's lives, history and culture.

The signing took place on Tuesday at the King David Jerusalem and was followed by a professional seminar led by representatives of the Tourism Ministry.

The agreement signing - the result of an initiative by the Mongolian President who visited Israel in 2008 as part of the President's Conference - includes delegation exchanges, transfer of professional know-how and information, cooperation in tourism enterprises and joint activities to promote tourism between the two countries. Given that Mongolia is partly a desert country, special attention will be given to desert tourism in terms of marketing, rural tourism and developing desert tourism.

The Mongolian delegation, which includes the Mongolian Tourism and Environment Minister, the Mongolian Ambassador to Israel (who resides in Ankara) and the International Relations Director of the Mongolian Tourism and Environment Ministry, arrived on Tuesday for a three-day visit. During the visit, they will meet with representatives of the tourism industry in Israel and visit the Tel Aviv and Jerusalem region.

"The Tourism Ministry attaches great importance to creating connections with new countries, both to encourage new tourism to Israel and to promote cooperation in different fieldsm," said Tourism Minister Stas Misezhnikov

Mongolia, in north Asia, borders Russia to the north and China to the south. 85% of the 3 million Mongolians are ethnic Mongolians, mainly Buddhists. Mongolia has been a member of the International Tourism Organization since 1990; the Mongolian government declared tourism as a preferred industry with much potential for the socio-economic development of the country - the industry employs about 12,000 workers.