ATHENS, April 22 (Xinhua) -- Greece presented on Monday the International Sports and Tourism Organization for Peace and Prosperity (ISO for P&P), a new international organization which aims to promote peace and prosperity worldwide through tourism and sports.

"It is especially necessary in an era in which bigotry and xenophobia are becoming again a threat for our open societies," Greek Foreign Minister George Katrougalos said during a press conference hosted at the ministry in the center of Athens.

The joint declaration on the establishment of the organization was signed by the foreign ministers and the tourism ministers of Greece, Cyprus and Lebanon two weeks ago in Beirut and already a large number of countries have expressed interest to join in, said Greek Tourism Minister Elena Kountoura.

The foundation of ISO for P&P was her initiative and the headquarters will be in Athens.

"We aim for peace, friendship and cooperation of the people and prosperity. Tourism and sports unite people and nations. They have the power to inspire and mobilize millions of people on the world," Kountoura said on Monday, explaining that Greece has much to offer to the new organization.

"Greece is where democracy was born, where the Olympic Games were born and noble ideas and universal values," she said.

An international organization needs the support of at least 40 countries in order to apply to become part of the UN system, according to Taleb Rifai, former Secretary-General of the UN's World Tourism Organization.

"Already today we have the expressed interest from 53 countries from all over the world to become part of this organization once it is established. The idea caught up very very quickly, because sports and tourism are important to the lives of people," he told the press conference.

Until the new organization its general assembly convenes and relevant bodies are elected, a preparatory provision committee will pave the road, he explained.

Rifai and Kountoura will be vice-chairpersons and ambassador Dho Young-shim, with her experience as Chairperson of the UN World Tourism Organization's Sustainable Tourism for Eliminating Poverty (ST-EP) Foundation, will serve as the head of the committee which also includes ministers from other countries, it was announced on Monday.

"When you look at the history it is not hard to find how sports brought two adversaries into harmony. You remember ping pong diplomacy. A little ball brought China and the United States together," Dho said, highlighting the power of sports.

Sports and tourism are key drivers of economic growth and the best way to bring people in contact, said Giorgos Vasiliadis, Greek Deputy Minister for Sports.

"The two sectors complement each other and have common goals, such as fostering mutual understanding, tolerance and closer relations between people of different cultures and lifestyles," the Greek official said. Enditem

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