These Rules define the procedure for the accession of new organizations to the Cooperation Agreement between tourist industry enterprises and professional associations, as well as other organizations engaged in tourism activities in the member states and dialogue partner states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).

1.1. Accession of new participants is carried out on the basis of a completed Application for Accession and the Agreement Signing Form (Protocol of Joining), submitted in electronic form.

1.2. The Executive Council reviews the submitted documents within the shortest possible time frame and decides on the admission of a new participant by collecting votes from the members of the Executive Council. Each Council member submits a positive or negative decision regarding the candidate under consideration.

1.3. The Application must be signed by a duly authorized person empowered to act on behalf of the organization. The Application shall contain accurate contact details, including telephone numbers and email addresses.

2.1. When reviewing an application, the Executive Council assesses whether the applicant’s activities and intentions are consistent with the goals and principles of the Agreement.

2.2. In the absence of substantiated objections from the members of the Executive Council and provided that the applicant meets the requirements of the Agreement, the organization may be approved for accession.

2.3. In certain cases, the Executive Council may decide to refuse cooperation. A decision on refusal is adopted by a simple majority of votes.

3.1. Upon adoption of a positive decision, the Executive Council sends the applicant an official notification (Approval for Accession) by email.

3.2. The name of the new acceding organization is entered into the electronic register of the Agreement participants.

3.3. The new participant is granted access to the relevant communication resources provided for within the framework of the Agreement.

3.4. The Application, the completed Accession Form, and the Approval for Accession are subject to deposit in the electronic archive of the Executive Council.

4.1. The Executive Council may refuse the accession of an organization if the applicant’s activities are found to be inconsistent with the goals and principles of the Agreement, or if there are substantiated objections from Council members.

4.2. The Executive Council is entitled to decide on the exclusion of a participant from among the organizations that have acceded to the Agreement. Exclusion is carried out by a simple majority of votes of the Council members.

4.3. Decisions on refusal and exclusion are adopted without quorum requirements or a minimum number of participating members.

5.1. Any participant of the Agreement may notify the Executive Council at any time of its intention to withdraw from participation. Withdrawal is carried out by notification.

5.2. A participant is also considered to have withdrawn in the following cases: