The Consulate General of Russia and in Dubai held a press conference on the entry into force of a visa-free regime for citizens of Russia and the UAE.
Recall that starting February 17, 2019, citizens of the United Arab Emirates do not need a visa to enter Russia, as well as for citizens of the Russian Federation visiting the UAE. This was made possible thanks to the Intergovernmental agreement on the abolition of the visa regime for citizens of Russia and the United Arab Emirates signed in July 2018 in Kazan.
In accordance with the Agreement, citizens of the Russian Federation and citizens of the United Arab Emirates who hold all types of valid passports, do not intend to work, study or reside in the territory of another state, are exempted from visa requirements and have the right to enter, stay or follow in transit through the territory of another state without visas for a period of up to 90 days for each period of 180 days.
Opening a press conference, Oleg Fomin, Consul General of the Russian Federation in Dubai, said: “We expect that the agreement will increase the intensity of the exchange of delegations, which will undoubtedly affect the level of bilateral relations in general, will serve as an impetus to ensure that more tourists from the United The United Arab Emirates came to Russia, it will help simplify and accelerate all business processes between our countries, and will help to further develop cooperation in the fields of education, science, business, tourism, culture.
Sergei Tokarev, general secretary of the Russian Council of Entrepreneurs in Dubai and the Northern Emirates, noted that the decision on the mutual cancellation of visas has already begun to bring results: “Immediately after the publication in the local press about the entry into force of the agreement, our local partners noticeably intensified. It is worth noting that this not only UAE citizens who have received the right to visa-free entry to Russia, but also businessmen from other countries who rightly expect rapid growth as a tourist flow from the United Arab Emirates to Russia, so and business tourism, which opens up new horizons for business. Without a doubt, we will soon learn about the opening of new routes and directions by airlines. I sincerely hope that Russian business is ready to receive tourists, businessmen and investors from the United Arab Emirates. "
Marina Morozova, representative of Visit Russia’s national tourist office in the Middle East, also noted that a visa-free regime is one of the most effective tools to increase tourist flow between the two countries. "In 2018, when tourists from Russia began to receive entry visas to the UAE upon arrival, the already solid tourist flow to the United Arab Emirates grew by more than 50%. The abolition of visas to Russia for UAE citizens will be even more noticeable in percentage terms - we expect growth 5-10 times. " Marina Morozova also mentioned that UAE citizens are sophisticated travelers and, developing travel packages, we focused on those cities and regions that today can provide the highest level - Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kazan and Sochi. "For the regions of Russia, now is the time to start promoting our own tourism product and we, having experience, are ready to provide all possible support to this," she added.
