Russia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) signed an agreement between the two governments on Friday in Kazan on the mutual abolition of visa requirements, Interfax reports.
“Today we witnessed the signing of an intergovernmental agreement "On the abolition of the visa regime for citizens of Russia and the Emirates," said Minister of Industry and Trade Denis Manturov after signing the document.
At a meeting of the Russian-UAE intergovernmental commission, D. Manturov announced that the signing of the agreement will create additional favorable conditions for the development of business mobility and increased tourism between the countries.
According to him, a memorandum of understanding and cooperation in the field of tourism was previously signed.
"We're already seeing a significant increase in tourist flow from Russia to the UAE, which grew by more than $501,000 last year. Over 750,000 Russian tourists visited the UAE, whose contribution to your country's economy, according to expert estimates, exceeded $1,400,000. Given the upcoming lifting of the visa barrier, we also expect an increase in the reciprocal flow of tourists from the Emirates," said D. Manturov.
Since February 2017, Russians have been able to obtain a free UAE visa on arrival for 30 days, with the possibility of extending it for another 30 days. According to data According to UAE authorities, the country was visited by approximately 995,000 Russian tourists in 2017, which is 1,081,000 more than the previous year.
Source: trn-news.ru