By the end of2024, India and Russia may sign a visa-free travel agreement. The minister declared on the sidelines of the international business conference “Russia – Islamic World: KazanForum 2024” in Kazan that a draft agreement would be examined for the first time in June and that a signature would probably take place before the end of the year.
A Russian minister has stated that negotiations on a bilateral deal to ease travel between Russia and India are scheduled to begin in June. The minister added that group tourist exchanges without visas would be the first step in Moscow and New Delhi’s plans to strengthen bilateral tourism ties.
Nikita Kondratyev, head of the Department of Multilateral Economic Cooperation and Special Projects of the Russian Economic Development Ministry, was quoted by RT News as stating that “India is at the final stage of internal state coordination.”
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The minister declared on the outskirts of the international economic conference “Russia – Islamic World: KazanForum 2024” in Kazan that a draft agreement would be examined for the first time in June and that a signature would probably take place before the end of the year.
In preparation for the start of group travel exchanges without the need for a visa, Russia and India plan to further develop their tourism connections. The minister stated that the two countries will begin their first round of negotiations in June with the goal of concluding a bilateral agreement by the end of the year.
Kondratyev claims that Russia wants to replicate the success of its current visa-free travel arrangements with Iran and China.
Russia and China launched their visa-free group tourism exchange program on August 1, 2016.
A new phase in Russia and Iran’s tourism-related cooperation began on the same day with the introduction of a visa-free group travel exchange.
