The Supreme Council of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has authorized the interior ministers to take the necessary measures to implement the unified Gulf tourist visa, welcoming the efforts made by the Committee of Interior Ministers in this regard, according to the final statement issued by the meeting of the leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries held in Doha today.
Under the unified GCC tourist visa system, those who obtain an entry or residence visa in one of the six GCC countries will be able to enter the rest of the countries with the same visa, similar to the Schengen visa, which connects EU countries to each other.
Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani chaired the 44th Gulf Summit, which was held on Tuesday in Doha, which reviewed the developments of the steps taken to achieve integration among the GCC countries and the most prominent issues of common interest, foremost of which was the situation in the Gaza Strip.
The GCC interior ministers approved the draft unified GCC tourist visa during the 40th meeting held in the Omani capital Muscat on November 8, provided that it will be implemented according to a specific timetable, with the aim of contributing to facilitating and smooth movement of residents and tourists between the six GCC countries.
The Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Jassim Mohammed Al-Budaiwi, stressed that the unified GCC tourist visa project is a new achievement added to the achievements of the GCC, in light of the directives of the leaders of the GCC countries, who paid attention to the achievements of the Gulf security cooperation.
Keeping up with the development
Nasser Al-Athba, professor of international law at Qatar University, said that the unified Gulf tourist visa undoubtedly keeps pace with the development witnessed by the Gulf countries and is an imperative necessity to continue the renaissance and modernity that all Gulf countries are going through.
Al-Athba added in an interview with Al Jazeera Net, that the presence of many competencies in the Gulf countries and their comfortable movement between these countries strengthens the Gulf economy as a single unit and not as multiple units, hence the importance of registering this mobility, which the new visa helps with.
The same spokesman stated that many companies in the Gulf countries can easily convert from local companies within the countries in which they operate to international Gulf companies, as a company manager in Saudi Arabia, for example, can easily move to another country to finish business himself, which facilitates the acceleration of investments and pushing towards the expansion of the opening of branches of local companies outside the framework of their work within their country, and then these companies will transform from local to international, regional, and perhaps in the future Arab and international.
He explained that the unified visa has a great positive impact, especially on the tourism sector and then the economy in general, stressing that economic integration needs this step, but within the framework of certain controls.
Al-Athba specified these controls by limiting the granting of this visa to those with specific salaries and certain jobs, and that its issuance should be linked to the criminal status sheet of those who want it, so that the paper is white to ensure that no person escapes or commits any legal violations while moving from one country to another.
Economic Advantages
Economist Abdul Rahim Al-Hawar confirms to Al Jazeera Net that the advantages of the unified visa are many, pointing out that the opening of geographical areas in one region is a big and important step in strengthening the main axes of the comprehensive component of the region.
He explained that this means several axes, the first of which is the promotion of economic activity in all its components, tourism and intra-regional trade, the opportunity to open markets for new projects, enhance the efficiency of employment for the workforce in the region, and unify legislation and laws regulating tourism, transport, education or communications.
The economist pointed out the importance of this step being the beginning of expanding the scope of the joint visa in neighboring countries to promote the same concepts and achieve the same benefits, citing the European experience that achieved great positive results after the introduction of the Schengen visa, which has benefited at all levels.
In the same context, Al-Hour pointed out that the exceptional benefit of the specificity of the Gulf countries lies in the fact that they are multinational countries of the workforce, and therefore opening the door to movement for residents will constitute the largest volume of mobility, investment, tourism and consumption at the same time, as moving to a new place opens opportunities for the operation of hotels, transportation and commercial markets, which is of course a great benefit for the country that receives these visitors.
Al-Hawar did not rule out the existence of negatives of the new regime, but stressed that they do not compare to the size of the benefits and positives that will be achieved as a result of the new system, and warned of the possibility of security challenges for the Gulf countries to control matters with regard to preventing the spread of organized crime, money laundering, drugs, and others, pointing out that this is accompanied by legislation and governing regulations to ensure the success of the new system.
Implementation Controls
Al-Hawar added that the most prominent advantages of the new system are the ease of movement of people, which results in a potential increase in tourism activities in all countries of the region, thus providing many economic benefits and increasing cooperation between the GCC countries.
The economist explained that the new system requires focusing on implementation controls to ensure the privacy of data throughout the GCC countries, stressing that the implementation method requires full coordination between countries to ensure the protection of the local systems and laws of each country and ensure that any country can set additional conditions.
Source: Al Jazeera