Chairman of the Federation Council Valentina Matviyenko hopes for the soonest agreement and signing of the Russian-Bahrain intergovernmental agreement on the mutual abolition of visas.
"In January 2020, a draft intergovernmental agreement on the mutual abolition of visas for citizens of our countries was handed over to the Bahraini side. Russia already has a visa-free regime with more than 100 countries of the world and, I am sure, that the speedy coordination and signing of a similar intergovernmental agreement with Bahrain, of course, will revive business activity, tourism", said the Speaker of the Federation Council at the meeting of the Advisory Council of the National Assembly of the Kingdom of Bahrain.
According to her, before the pandemic, 27,000 Russian tourists spent their holidays in Bahrain. "I think that after the pandemic there will be a resumption of growth in the number of tourists. Of course, it is more convenient to go to a country where there are no visa barriers. Nowadays it is already an anachronism. We need to create conditions for free movement around the world for citizens of all countries. I hope that advisory council will support the quick signing of such agreement with Russia," noted Matvienko.
She is convinced that "the removal of unnecessary bureaucratic barriers to the mutual movement of citizens" of the two countries will promote trade cooperation and interaction between Russian and Bahraini citizens in general.
The Speaker of the Upper House of Parliament also mentioned that the work within the framework of the intergovernmental commission on trade, economic, scientific and technical cooperation is being systematically carried out. "Interdepartmental documents in customs, transport, industrial cooperation and healthcare spheres are being agreed. The next meeting of our joint intergovernmental commission should be held next year in Bahrain. It is very important to fill it with concrete, substantive content", said Matvienko.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Based on materials from TASS