Kuwait’s mission to the European Union (EU) in Brussels welcomed the European Commission (EC)’s announcement that Kuwait will be added to the list of countries whose citizens will be exempt from the Schengen visa requirement, as well as the start of a series of final formal negotiations between Kuwait and the EU aimed at abolishing the Schengen visa requirement for Kuwaiti citizens.
The mission stated that this announcement reflects the two sides’ distinguished and solid relations at all levels, noting in a statement that the European decision reflects the Kuwaiti Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ great efforts over the past years to achieve this goal, as well as the fruitful cooperation with other relevant government agencies in Kuwait.
For his part, Abdulaziz bin Ahmed Al-Malki, Qatar’s Ambassador to the EU, revealed that he had received from EC’s Vice President Margaritis Schinas the official legal document regarding the inclusion of Qatar for exemption from the Schengen visa
“We will try to have it ratified by the European Ministerial Council and the European Parliament (EP),” Ambassador Al-Maliki tweeted from his official Twitter account.
Al-Maliki hailed the EU’s procedure for exempting Qatari people from Schengen as a significant step forward, stressing that more will be done in the future.
He emphasized that this announcement is the culmination of all parties’ efforts in the country to move forward with exempting Qatari people from the Schengen visa requirement.
The EC said yesterday that Qatar and Kuwait would be added to the list of countries whose citizens will be free from the Schengen visa requirement and that it will submit this proposal to the European Parliament and Council for approval.
