Muscat: The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) initiated talks with the European Union (EU) on Monday for a waiver on Schengen visas for citizens in the region.
Jasem Mohamed AlBudaiwi, Secretary General of the GCC, met with the special representative of the EU for the Gulf region, Luigi Di Maio, in the Belgian capital to discuss the matter, among other issues.
“During the meeting, they discussed the GCC-European bilateral relations, including issues related to the visa waiver process for GCC citizens in the Schengen area,” the agency said.
If the GCC region secures a waiver, Gulf citizens traveling to the Schengen states will no longer need to secure a visa before their trip.
“Our presence, as Gulf citizens, in Europe is positive in terms of education, tourism, medical treatment, purchases or trade exchange,” Albudaiwi earlier told the Saudi TV Channel. “We are stable countries and export whatever is positive. We don’t export anything negative,” he added.
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