Based on the proposal put forward by the State Tourism Agency, a project for the implementation of a unilateral visa-free regime is being executed, and as of February 15, a temporary unilateral visa-free regime has come into force for 4 countries. These countries are mainly Arab states.
Modern.az reports that Emil Safarov, Head of the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stated this at a public hearing held by the Milli Majlis Committee on Labor and Social Policy on the topic of “The Current State and Development Prospects of Tourism in Azerbaijan.”
According to him, the project is planned to be continued, and work is underway to add new countries to this list in the near future:
“The main goal is to implement a visa-free or simplified regime in Azerbaijan's relations with friendly and strategic partner countries, to increase tourist flow without migration risk, and at the same time to ensure mutual interests.”
In recent times, the visa regime has been simplified with a number of countries:
“In this context, mechanisms applied with the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, the People's Republic of China, Serbia, and Morocco can be particularly noted. Negotiations are currently ongoing with dozens of countries. This process is carried out only with friendly and partner states, taking into account both domestic and foreign policy interests, national security, and migration issues.”
He noted that within the framework of the simplified mechanism applied during the pandemic, more than 36,000 people visited the country for a specific international event.
