Spanish King Felipe VI has pledged his support for environmental conservation efforts in the Maldives, acknowledging that the Maldivian environment in is inexplicably linked to the nation's crucial tourism industry.

King Felipe made the announcement at a private meeting with Tourism Minister Dr. Abdulla Mausoom following the 113th Executive Council session for the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) held in Madrid, Spain.

Heads of State from the UNWTO session received a private invitation from King Felipe for meetings at the El Pardo Palace in Madrid on January 18, where King Felipe addressed the importance of international tourism in fostering opportunities for investment and employment. King Felipe proceeded to host individual discussions with the gathered dignitaries in relation to the state of tourism in their respective countries.

The Spanish King went on to pledge his support for efforts made to conserve the environment in Maldives, noting that the country's economic fulcrum, the tourism industry, was inexplicably linked to the environment.

Tourism Minister Mausoom shared plans with Felipe to further enhance the Maldivian tourism industry through sustainable development projects. The Secretary General of UNWTO, Zurab Pololikashvili, was also in attendance at the meeting, along with the Spanish Tourism Minister, María Reyes Maroto.

Additionally, the minister attended the Global Tourism Crisis Committee meeting of the UNWTO, where representatives of member states hypothesized ways in which to resuscitate the global tourism industry, with many participants stressing how critical it was to vaccinate majority of populations so people can travel freely with their vaccine-certificates, in order to improve international travel and bolster the tourism worldwide.

The meeting was held to analyze obstacles to the international tourism industry caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, and present collective solutions to the issues currently being faced in global tourism.

Maldives is currently the Chair of the UNWTO's Commission of South Asia.