India In Talks With Russia For Visa Free Travel

India and Russia are set to strengthen their tourism relations as they plan for the launch of visa free group tourist exchanges. The first round of dialogues between the two countires is scheduled for June, with a taget to finalize a bilateral agreement by the end of the year, The Financial Express has reported.

These details were shared by Nikita Kondratyev, director of the Russian Economic Development Ministry’s department of multilateral economic cooperation and special projects. 

The Background

India and Russia plan to borrow from the success of visa-free tourist exchanges already established with China and Iran. Russia and China initiated their visa-free group tourist exchange in Augustlast year, following an intergovernmental agreement. Similarly, a visa-free group tourist exchange between Russia and Iran commenced at the same date.

Russia is now turning its attention to India, a strategic partner with immense outbound tourism potential. In early February, the Russian Ministry of Economic Development expressed its anticipation to kickstart visa-free tourist exchanges with India in 2024.