Visa-free travel to Azerbaijan for Maldivians with diplomatic passports

An agreement has been executed between the governments of Maldives and Azerbaijan which will allow visa-free travel to Azerbaijan for Maldivians holding diplomatic passports.

Two key bilateral agreements were signed between Male’ and Baku on Friday.

The agreements were signed by Maldivian Foreign Minister Dr. Abdulla Khaleel and Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jayhun Bayramov following a meeting between the two in Baku on the sidelines of Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC.

The first agreement signed in this regard was the ‘Agreement on Mutual Exemption of Visa Requirement for Holders of Diplomatic, Service and Official Passports between the Government of Maldives and the Government of Azerbaijan’ which is aimed at simplifying movement between both countries. 

Once effective, the visa exemption will allow Maldivians holding valid Diplomatic and Official passports to enter, transit through and stay in Azerbaijan for up to 90 days from the date of their entry.

Maldivian Foreign Ministry described the limited visa exemption agreement as a step closer to facilitating closer engagement and working towards visa exemption for all Maldivians, which as per the Ministry, both governments agreed to give positive consideration to.

The second agreement signed was the ‘Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Cooperation in the Field of Tourism between the Government of Maldives and the Government of Azerbaijan’ which is aimed at promoting mutual tourism development through acknowledging the importance of tourism for the economic, cultural and social aspects of both countries.

During the meeting between the two foreign ministers, Maldivian Foreign Minister Khaleel noted the close ties of friendship between the Maldives and Azerbaijan and reiterated his commitment to further strengthening cooperation. He added that signing of the agreements will boost the existing bilateral relations between the two countries and will pave way for enhancing people to people contact, building cultural ties and tourism cooperation for mutual benefit.

Minister Khaleel also affirmed the commitment to continue working closely with Azerbaijan in the multilateral arena.