The UAE’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation has announced that it has activated entry visas for Indian citizens who hold a US green card and visa.
Ahmed Al Dhaheri, Assistant Under-Secretary for Consular Affairs at the Ministry, said Indian citizens who hold green card or visa issued by the US shall be granted entry visas to the UAE for a period of 14 days which may be extended for a similar period provided the visa to the US or the green card issued and the passport are valid not less than six months.
He said in comments published by state news agency WAM that the decision reflects the desire of the UAE Government to strengthen its co-operation with the Government of India.
In March, the UAE cabinet approved granting of the visas.
The number of Indian tourists coming to the UAE in 2016 reached about 1.6 million, and there were about 50,000 UAE tourists who visited India in the same year. UAE citizens are also given on arrival visa in India.
India is the UAE’s second largest partner with trade between the two countries reaching $60 billion a year.
India is investing about $70 billion in the UAE through 45,000 Indian companies, while the UAE is investing $10 billion in the energy, metallurgical, services, technology and construction sectors.
In the field of tourism, there are about 143 flights a day between the UAE cities and Indian cities at the rate of 1000 flights per week.
