Initial Agreements Between Russia and Iran to Abolish Group Tourism Visa Requirements

Maria Zakharova, the spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry, announced on Monday, December 8, that Moscow and Tehran have agreed on the text of a "draft for facilitating the visa issuance system" and reported on a "program for continued reviews" in the coming months to abolish group tourism visas between Russia and Iran. The state news agency IRNA quoted Ms. Zakharova as saying, "In close cooperation with the Iranian side, step-by-step and successful efforts are underway to facilitate the visa issuance system between the two countries." Since last winter, the two countries have begun extensive negotiations to develop tourism relations through the "abolition of the need for a visa prior to travel" after signing an agreement to facilitate visa issuance. According to IRNA, Russia is currently implementing a similar approach for Chinese citizens. Zakharova wrote in a statement published on the Russian Foreign Ministry's website, "After the implementation of the government agreement between Iran and Russia to facilitate travel conditions for groups of citizens from both countries began, the number of Iranian citizens traveling for business, humanitarian, and tourism purposes has more than doubled." The spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry added that during recent consultations, "the parties were able to agree on the text of the draft, which we intend to work on in the next two to three months with the relevant Russian authorities to reach the stage of issuing a government order." On the same day, Bahram Qasemi, the spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, also stated that "based on previous negotiations between the two countries, it is planned to abolish the visa for tourism groups under specific conditions that have been agreed upon, which has not yet been implemented." According to IRNA, the Iranian diplomatic spokesperson noted, "The mentioned agreement and document have been initialed and are set to be signed soon between the two countries." Qasemi also stated, "Until the necessary agreements for the abolition of regular visas for citizens of both countries are completed, there are still many steps left that need to be agreed upon at the appropriate time between the relevant officials of both countries and implemented." The statements from the spokespersons of the Russian and Iranian Foreign Ministries came after some Iranian news agencies reported, citing the Russian news agency Sputnik, that Tehran and Moscow had agreed to allow tourism groups of five to fifty people for a fifteen-day trip to the other country without needing a visa. Sputnik had reported this news citing Yevgeny Ivanov, head of the consular department of the Russian Foreign Ministry. According to Sputnik, the implementation date of this agreement was announced to be early 2017. However, Bahram Qasemi on Monday called the reports published based on this Sputnik news "inaccurate" and provided the explanations mentioned above regarding this matter. Previously, according to some Iranian news agencies, Mehdi Sanaei, Iran's ambassador to Russia, wrote in a note on November 2 that a table had been prepared in three phases to facilitate travel between the two countries, stating: "In the first phase, last year, a memorandum of understanding to facilitate visa issuance was signed between the foreign ministers of the two countries, which shortened the visa application process and made it easier to obtain long-term visas for commercial, scientific, and tourism sectors of both countries." In this context, the spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry announced on Monday that "an agreement has been reached to examine the issue of creating a mechanism for the travel of representatives of the business communities of both countries based on direct invitations, which allows legal entities, companies, and economic centers to invite foreign partners." According to news agencies, Mr. Sanaei wrote in his note in November that "the second phase is the abolition of visas for tourism groups between the two countries, which Russia has proposed to Iran and decisions will be made in this regard during the joint commission of consular cooperation between the two countries." The Iranian ambassador described the complete abolition of visas between the two countries as the third phase and added, "Iran is more prepared for this purpose, and negotiations in this area may also be on the agenda of relations between the two countries starting next year." According to the website of the Iranian embassy in Moscow, Mehdi Sanaei also mentioned on December 5 during a meeting in the Russian capital that the number of tourists has increased, stating: "In 2015, we had a 150% increase in tourism, and it is expected that in 2017 this amount will reach 400%." He pointed out that the number of reciprocal flights between the two countries has also increased, with four Iranian airlines flying to Russia. Previously, according to Sputnik news agency, Valentina Matviyenko, the head of the Federation Council (the upper house of the Russian parliament), during her visit to Tehran about two weeks ago, stated that Hassan Rouhani, the President of Iran, "supports the idea of moving towards the abolition of visas between the two countries."