“The goal is for all of Latin America to be visa-free. The agreement is underway, we are working,” Shchetinin emphasized.
Russia currently has a visa exemption regime in 27 of the 33 Latin American countries, and Shchetinin previously noted at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum that Moscow is negotiating visa exemptions with the Bahamas, Barbados, Haiti, Mexico, Trinidad and Tobago. Tobago, as well as Saint Lucia.
On Monday, Economic Development Minister Maxim Reshetnikov said Russia had approached Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Malaysia with a proposal to cancel tourist visas. This was stated at the Eastern Economic Forum during the session “Inbound tourism: challenges and opportunities in the new reality.”
Deputy Minister of Economic Development Dmitry Vakhrukov also stated that a visa-free group tourist exchange between Russia and India could begin in 2024.
Meanwhile, starting August 1, Russia and China began mutually accepting tourist groups within the framework of an intergovernmental agreement on visa-free group tourist exchanges. In addition, a visa-free group travel exchange has been launched between Russia and Iran.
