Visa waiver agreement signed between Maldives, Russia

A visa waiver agreement was signed on Tuesday between the governments of Maldives and Russia.

The agreement was signed by Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid on behalf of the government, while his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov signed the agreement on his government's behalf.

Under the waiver, Maldivians traveling to Russia will be issued a 90-day on arrival visa, while Russians traveling to the Maldives will receive the same incentive.

During the meeting that followed the signing ceremony, both ministers spoke on the age old friendship that existed between the two countries, and discussed enhancing cooperation in areas of mutual interest such as increasing the variety of fish products exported to Russia, tourism, climate change and counter-terrorism efforts.