Moscow: Russia has proposed the complete cancellation of tourist visas to Saudi Arabia and four other countries, Russian News Agency TASS reported.
The other four countries are
- Malaysia
- Bahrain
- Oman
- Kuwait
Speaking during a panel at the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) in the Russian Pacific city of Vladivostok, Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko said Russia is actively working on removing visa requirements for selected Asian countries.
Russia’s Minister of Economic Development, Maxim Reshetnikov, said, “We are working toward establishing a visa-free regime with countries of the Middle East and South Asia.”
“One of the reasons for interest in this issue is the possibility of an increase in traffic of tourists, including premium ones,” he added.
In March, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Yevgeny Ivanov said Moscow is preparing intergovernmental agreements on visa-free travel with eleven countries.
- Malaysia
- Bahrain
- Oman
- Saudi Arabia
- Bahamas
- Barbados
- Haiti
- Zambia
- Kuwait
- Mexico
- Trinidad and Tobago
The move builds on similar agreements implemented on August 1. Russia and China began accepting groups of tourists under the framework of an intergovernmental agreement on visa-free group tourism exchanges.
