News - When Armenia-UAE visa liberalization agreement to come into force?

Relations between Armenia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have been developing quite dynamically, especially recently. Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister Vahan Kostanyan told this to reporters before the start of the Armenian-Emirati business forum Monday. "Also, during the [recent] visit of the Minister of Foreign Affairs [of Armenia] to Abu Dhabi, several practical agreements were reached, and the [Armenian] government shall start working on their implementation; and this will enable to further develop the economic relations between the two countries. Today, the trade we have with the UAE is quite large. In fact, the UAE is our first trading partner in the Middle East, but there is certainly a much larger market that we should try to reach. Such business forums will help our businessmen to make contacts with their Emirati colleagues,” Kostanyan said. “Also, at the same time, the [Armenian] government and the MFA take care that the relevant legal contract base is updated with the Emirati side, which will enable to create institutional bases for deepening the cooperation. In this regard, I believe the signed agreement on the liberalization of visas, which has not yet entered into force—it will enter into force after being ratified by the [Armenian] parliament, is quite important. This, in turn, will enable to further intensify tourist flows in both directions, as well as development of business ties," added the Armenian deputy foreign minister. And to the question as to when the aforesaid visa liberalization agreement will come into force in Armenia, Kostanyan responded as follows: "The agreement shall go to the CC [(Constitutional Court)], undergo constitutional oversight, and then be submitted to the NA [(National Assembly)] for ratification. We hope to complete the process in a very short period of time."