The Governments of the Republic of Maldives and Rwanda have signed an agreement to waive visa requirements, allowing each other’s citizens to enter, exit or transit without visas for a period of up to 30 days.
The move has been taken in a bid for both countries to strengthen the existing bilateral relations while also promoting the strengthening of people-to-people contact, VisaGuide.World reports.
The agreement was signed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Abdulla Shahid, on behalf of the Government of the Maldives and the Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Republic of Rwanda, Vincent Biruta.
“During the discussions at the signing ceremony, Minister Shahid thanked the Government of Rwanda for its commitment towards strengthening the existing bilateral relations between the two countries and conveyed hope that the signing of this agreement will increase avenues for engagement and people-to-people contact between the Maldives and Rwanda,” notes a press release of the Maldivan government regarding the agreement.
It further says that during the meeting in which this deal was reached, the Foreign Minister of Rwanda has also expressed keen interest in strengthening the bilateral ties with the Maldives.
Up until now, Maldivian citizens had to apply for a visa on arrival when traveling to Rwanda, for which they need a total of five documents.
Based on the VisaGuide Passport Index, the Rwandan passport is ranked 155th in the world as of March 2023, which means that Rwandan citizens can travel visa-free to only 29 countries around the world. Meanwhile, to enter the remaining countries, Rwandan passport holders must first apply for a visa.
For visa-free travel, an individual must have a passport six months after the date of departure and must purchase the appropriate travel insurance from their country of destination.
In addition, the VisaGuide Passport Index has ranked the Maldivian passport 1017th as of March 2023. As a result, Maldivian citizens can travel visa-free to 54 countries around the world.
Recently, the Maldives has reached a mutual visa exemption agreement with China, which was signed last year and has now entered into force. This means that citizens of the Maldives are now able to travel to China for tourist purposes without having to obtain a visa for stays of up to 30 days.
The same applies to Chinese nationals who wish to travel to the Maldives for tourist purposes, who can enter without a visa as long as they plan to stay for less than 30 days. On the other hand, the authorities have emphasized that citizens of the Maldives and China who decide to stay in each other’s territories for more than 30 days will have to apply for a visa.
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