Russian Minister of Economic Development: Russia proposes to cancel visas for 6 countries
Russian Minister of Economic Development, Maxim Reshetnikov, revealed that his country proposed the complete cancellation of tourist visas for Kuwait, the Sultanate of Oman, Bahrain, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and Malaysia.
The minister said during a session entitled “Domestic Tourism: Challenges and Opportunities in the New Reality” within the framework of the 8th Eastern Economic Forum in Russian city of Vladivostok, “We’re developing the issue of moving to abandoning visas, and among the countries we are working with are the countries of the Middle East and Southeast Asia, and we have proposed the complete cancellation of visas for Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Malaysia, where it’s also possible to increase the number of premium tourists, that is why we are interested in that”.
the 8th Eastern Economic Forum is being held in Vladivostok from September 10 to 13, 2023 under the slogan “On the Path to Cooperation, Peace and Prosperity”.
This event is organized by the Roscongress Foundation and TASS, a media partner of the Forum.
Earlier this year, the Russian TASS news agency quoted Yevgeny Ivanov, the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister, as saying that Moscow is working to facilitate visa procedures for six countries, including Syria, India and Indonesia.
Ivanov said in statements at the time, “In addition to India, work is being done to simplify procedures with Angola, Vietnam, Indonesia, Syria and the Philippines”.
TASS quoted the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister as saying earlier that Russia is also preparing government agreements on visa-free trips with 11 countries, including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Malaysia, Mexico, Zambia, Haiti, Barbados and Trinidad.
As a result of the repercussions of the Ukraine war on Russia’s relations with Western countries, especially European ones, Moscow has increased its interest in its foreign relations with East Asian countries, especially China and India, as well as African and Latin American countries.
It’s reported that as of August 1, 2023, Russia and China are ready to mutually accept groups of tourists within the framework of an intergovernmental agreement on visa-free group tourism exchanges.
In addition, as of August 1, an exchange of visa-free group tours between Russia and Iran has been launched.
According to Russian Deputy Minister of Economic Development Dmitry Vakrukov, a visa-free mass tourism exchange between Russia and India may be launched in 2024.
