Cairo - Egypt will soon allowIranians travelling with tour groups to obtain visas on arrivalin the south of its Sinai peninsula with a view to extendingaccess to other parts of the country, Egyptian tourism ministryofficials said. The decision is part of a series of measures announced onMonday aimed at improving access to visas to boost tourismrevenues at a time when Egypt has been struggling economicallywith an acute foreign currency shortage. It also comes as some Middle Eastern countries includingEgypt are taking steps to ease regional tensions. Egypt's SunniMuslim Arab ally Saudi Arabia and Shi'ite Muslim Iran announcedthis month that they would restore diplomatic relations.
Cairo has mended a rift with Qatar and is re-establishingties with Turkey, another country to benefit from new visa ruleswith Turkish nationals given expanded access to visas onarrival, according to a Egyptian Tourism Ministry statement. Among the other new visa rules announced were a $700,five-year multiple-entry visa, which Tourism Minister Ahmed Issatold Reuters was aimed at investors and property owners who arebased outside Egypt.
On visas for Iranians arriving in South Sinai, home to thehighly secured resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, Issa said: "We willevaluate the experience of their arrival in South Sinai as afirst step, and building on that, we'll determine if they willbe admitted in other places."
Relations between Egypt and Iran have generally been fraughtin recent decades although the two countries have maintaineddiplomatic contacts.
Tourists from China, which Egypt regards as a market withbig potential, and Indians resident in Gulf countries will alsobe granted visas on arrival. All new visa rules have been approved in principle and willbe put into effect soon, a tourism ministry official said.
(Reporting by Ahmed Mohamed Hassan and Aidan Lewis, editing byMark Heinrich)
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