An Emirates Airline Airbus A380-800 plane takes off from Dubai International Airport in Dubai, UAE. (File photo: Reuters)
UAE citizens can now travel to Israel without a visa, stay for 90 days
Citizens of the United Arab Emirates can now travel to Israel without a visa for up to 90 days, the Emirates News Agency (WAM) cited the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as saying on Thursday.
The visa waiver is line with the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that was signed by both countries on Tuesday.
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The decision was signed by the UAE’s Assistant Minister for Culture and Public Diplomacy Omar Saif Ghobash and Israel’s Director-General of the Population and Immigration Authority of the Ministry of Interior. The exemption “reflects both countries’ desire to strengthen promising relations and opportunities for cooperation” and “open up new horizons for cooperation in the region,” WAM reported.
The first ever passenger flight from the UAE to Israel landed near Tel Aviv on Monday, a month after the countries signed an agreement normalizing ties.
#BREAKING : UAE’s @etihad becomes first gulf carrier to operate direct flight from Abu Dhabi to Israel #UAEIsrael 🇦🇪🇮🇱 pic.twitter.com/eojGaQ6TO8
— حسن سجواني 🇦🇪 Hassan Sajwani (@HSajwanization) October 19, 2020
In August, Israel and the UAE announced that they had reached a US-brokered deal to normalize ties, following years of discreet economic and security cooperation.
Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, ratified the UAE deal last week.
The UAE and Israel on Tuesday signed an agreement to have 28 weekly commercial flights between the countries, a transportation ministry official said.
Read more:
First Emirati passenger plane lands in Israel from UAE
‘Welcome to Israel’: First UAE delegation received by Israeli PM Netanyahu at airport
