Bahrain drops visa fees for Turkish nationals

Mutual exemption of visa fees signed during Erdogan’s visit

Bahrain has lifted visa fees for Turkish citizens visiting the kingdom, reports in Manama have said.

The decision to lift the fees was taken under the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by the two countries in February during a visit by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Under the accord, signed by Bahrain’s Minister of Interior Shaikh Rashid Bin Abdullah Al Khalifa and Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, Bahrain and Turkey exempted their citizens from paying fees for visas granted to visit each other’s countries.

The lifting of the fees is applied since Friday to tourists, business people and visitors on official visits.

The MoU on mutual exemption of visa fees for holders of ordinary passports reflects “the tireless efforts to boost cooperation and establish an outstanding strategic partnership based on strong and long-standing historic relations between the two countries and peoples as well as mutual respect,” Bahrain’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in February.

“This MoU represents an important step toward strengthening bilateral relations.”

Turkey’s ambassador to Bahrain Hatun Demirer said that she was looking forward to more Bahrainis visiting Turkey and more Turkish citizens going to Bahrain as tourism figures indicated a steady increase in the numbers of visitors from and to both countries.

“The number of Bahrainis who travelled to Turkey reached 41,505 in 2016, up from 32,476 in 2015, while the number of the Turkish citizens visiting Bahrain has also increased from 27,137 in 2015 to 34,292 in 2016,” she said in late March.

“Relations between Turkey and Bahrain are developing and strengthening in all fields. Mutual tourism is one of the most dynamic sectors in our bilateral relations. We are very happy to observe that Turkey is a main tourism destination and a holiday preferences for our Bahraini sisters and brothers.”

New business agreements have recently given a boost to economic ties between Turkey and Bahrain.

Bahrain is the only Gulf country which has a free-trade agreement with the US, and Turkish companies could use Bahrain as a trade base, Turkish Daily Sabah reported.

Turkey’s exports to Bahrain stood at $193.2 million in 2016, according to official data from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat). Imports from Bahrain amounted to $127.7 million in the same period.

In the last 10 years, Turkey’s exports to Bahrain totalled $1.66 billion, while its imports stood at $1.28 billion.