First-Time Visa Deal with UAE Ratified

YERUSHALAYIM
A man stands on a tarmac at Al Bateen Executive Airport in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Friday. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, Pool)

Another first in Mideast peacemaking on Sunday: the Israeli cabinet ratified a mutual visa exemption agreement with the United Arab Emirates.

The vote for approval was unanimous. It was signed in Tel Aviv last month, and the UAE government reportedly ratified it on November.

“This is the first Arab country with which we have signed such an agreement and this is a step that will facilitate reciprocal tourism,” Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said before the vote was taken at the weekly cabinet meeting.

The agreement will enable citizens from each country to apply online for a visa to the other country without the time-consuming process of an in-person application.

The system is scheduled to go into effect as of December 1.

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