Russia is working on an agreement on visa-free travel with nine countries in Africa and the Middle East, according to the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s consular department, Alexei Klimov, Africanews.com reported.
“Working out agreements on the cancellation of visa requirements providing for visa-free entry for short-term trips of citizens, usually up to 90 days, is currently underway with a number of friendly countries, nine of them in the regions of Africa and the Middle East,” the diplomat said.
The timeframe for working out the agreements is still unknown because negotiations with partners are at various stages of progress. Klimov promised to inform about achievements in this direction, “embodied in documented bilateral agreements.”
Earlier, the Russian Foreign Ministry said that Russia was negotiating the simplification of visa regimes with several African countries, including Zimbabwe.
The timeline for finalizing the agreements remains uncertain, as negotiations with partner countries are progressing at different stages.
Moscow already has visa-free regimes with Angola, Mozambique, Malawi, São Tomé and Príncipe, Tunisia, and Morocco.
Russia has been making inroads in Africa, particularly in Sahel countries that have experienced coups.
In November of last year, Russia announced that it was working on agreements on visa-free travel with 11 countries, including Bahrain, Oman, Saudi Arabia, The Bahamas, Barbados, Haiti, Zambia, Kuwait, Malaysia, Mexico, and Trinidad and Tobago.