King’s envoy signs visa-free travel for Emiratis to Tonga [1]
Wednesday, April 25, 2018 - 13:32
Passport holders of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) can enter and stay in the Kingdom of Tonga for 60 days without a pre-entry visa, starting from May 24, according to reports from Abu Dhabi this week.
UAE’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MoFAIC) on April 24 announced the new travel facility for Emirati nationals entering Tonga, after a visa waiver Memorandum of Understanding was signed by the governments of the two countries on April 23 in Abu Dhabi.
“The MoU was signed by Yacoub Yousef Al Hosani, Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation for International Organisation Affairs, [and] the Honourable 'Akau'ola, Special Envoy of the King of Tonga to the United Arab Emirates.”
The signing was on the sidelines of a meeting with Reem Bint Ibrahim Al Hashemi, Minister of State for International Cooperation.
Ahmed Alham Al Dhaheri, Assistant Under-Secretary for Consular Affairs at MoFAIC, said that Emirati nationals holders of diplomatic, VIP, special mission and ordinary passports can travel to Tonga without prior visa arrangements as of 24 May.
Al Dhaheri said that the Ministry aimed to make the UAE passport among the top five most important in the world, in line with the UAE’s Vision 2021.
There has been no announcement about the new visa waiver for UAE from Tonga's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Aid programme
UAE has signed similar visa waivers in the South Pacific with Fiji and New Zealand. MoFAIC, has launched a two-year renewable energy training programme for Pacific Island countries financed by Abu Dhabi Fund for Development, ADFD, the leading national entity for development aid. The training is being led by Masdar, Abu Dhabi’s renewable energy company.
The capacity-building initiative falls within the framework of the ADFD-funded US$50 million UAE-Pacific Partnership Fund, UAE-PPF. Masdar developed and is now managing the training programme in collaboration with delivery partners from the University of the South Pacific in Fiji, and two leading green energy consultancy companies – New Zealand’s Elemental Power and Renewables, and Australia’s ITP Renewables.