Belize signs Latin American Cooperative Agreement with Cruise Port Countries

On September 18^th, 2008, Mr. Mike Singh, Chief Executive Officer in the Ministry of Tourism & Civil Aviation, represented Minister of Tourism, the Hon. Manuel Heredia Jr. in Mexico City at a meeting of the Ministers of the Mundo Maya Accord where he participated in the signing of the Latin American Mechanism Agreement, established to provide consultation and coordination between cruise port countries in Central America.

The Secretary of the Federal Government of Tourism, Rodolfo Elizondo Torres along with six Central American countries — namely Mexico, Belize, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and El Salvador took part in the signing of the agreement. The objective is to improve the local conditions of the cruise sector by using the resources generated to bring direct benefits to communities.

During the visit to Mexico, Mr. Michael Singh, through the kind coordination of the Mexican Embassy in Belize, also had the opportunity to meet with the General Manager of FONATUR. Lic. Mario de la Vega Granjales, to discuss the possibility of a working relationship between FONATUR and the Ministry of Tourism in providing technical and planning support for the development of the Ministry's proposed Tourism Development Trust. FONATUR is a Tourism Development Fund established in 1974 and has been responsible for the development of major tourism destinations in Mexico - including Cancun, Los Cabos, Ixtapa, Loreto, Costa Maya, Nayarit, and Mar de Cortez.

The visit continued with the CEO and Belize's Ambassador to Mexico, His Excellency: Rosendo Urbina attending a series of meetings with the Secretary of Tourism in Mexico, Sr. Rodolfo Elizondo Torres and his staff. Mr. Torres reiterated Mexico's support for Belize's tourism development and welcomed Belize's return to the cooperative meetings by recognizing the conduit role Belize plays as a transit stop between Mexico and the rest of Central America in the Mundo Maya Accord.

At the end of the visit Mr. Singh and the delegation attended a general meeting where the pro tem president of Mundo Maya, Secretario Rodolfo Torres, outlined the various initiatives conducted by the secretariat of the Mundo Maya in the past year. Honduras Minister of Tourism and past president of Mundo Maya, Lic. Ricardo Martinez, gave a brief history of the Accord and called on all countries to return to the original goals of Mundo Maya Accord.

The meeting concluded with the transfer of the Mundo Maya Presidency to Guatemala for a period of two years.