Rabat – The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs and a European delegation announced this Monday that it has reviewed the appropriate processes with a European delegation to enable the admission of Saudi individuals into Schengen nations without obtaining a visa.
The announcement came at the end of a two-day meeting — launched yesterday in Riyadh — between Saudi Deputy Foreign Minister Waleed Al-Khuraiji and Dimitri Giotakos, Deputy Director-General in charge of Schengen and Internal Security.
Ambassador Tamim Al-Dossary, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for Consular Affairs, Head of the Saudi Mission to the European Union Saad Al-Arif, and European Union Ambassador to the Kingdom Patrick Simonet also attended the meeting.
While both parties expect to soon finalize the agreement, it is not yet clear when exactly the visa exemption cooperation will be reached or go into force.
In addition to discussing how to facilitate the entry of Saudi citizens to the Schengen countries without a visa, the two parties examined Saudi-EU relations and strategies to deepen them.
In a statement issued today, the ministry stated that “the two parties affirmed their desire to deepen cooperation and consultation to serve the common interests between the Kingdom and the European Union countries.”
Read also: Saudi Arabia Extends Validity of Final Exit Visas for Moroccans
The European Union Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Patrick Simonet has unveiled a new mechanism for facilitating the acquisition of multiple visas by Saudi nationals.
In a statement to Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper last month, the diplomat said that “the European Union is working in parallel with a system to exempt all citizens of the Gulf countries from visas,” expressing “his optimism that the Saudis will be able to visit Europe soon without a visa.”
The European declarations came three weeks after the United Kingdom announced that it will make it easier for Saudis to electronically secure visas 24 hours before flying.
