Azerbaijan and North Macedonia have reached an agreement to abolish visa requirements for holders of diplomatic and service passports.
The decision came following a meeting between Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and North Macedonian President Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova in Baku.
The North Macedonian President said her country would ‘immediately put an end to the surprising situation of the introduction of visa requirements for diplomatic and service passport holders, VisaGuide.World reports.
I think that this is a situation that neither North Macedonia nor Azerbaijan is satisfied with, and taking this step will serve to bring the two peoples closer together.
Azerbaijani President, Ilham Aliyev, emphasized the increased cooperation between Azerbaijan and the European Union in terms of gas supply, particularly emphasizing the Declaration on a Strategic Partnership in the Energy Sector between the EU and Azerbaijan, signed in Baku in July 2022.
Siljanovska-Davkova traveled to Azerbaijan as part of an official state visit earlier this week, where she met with the First Deputy Prime Minister of Azerbaijan, Yagub Eyyubov, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Fariz Rzayev, and other officials.
Enhancing Cooperation Between Both Countries
The decision has also been confirmed through a statement provided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan.
An Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Government of the Republic of North Macedonia on the exemption of visa requirement for holders of diplomatic and service/official passports was signed.
The document was signed by the Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan, Jeyhun Bayramov, and North Macedonian Foreign Minister, Timčo Mucunski.
Both ministers also discussed bilateral and multilateral cooperation between Azerbaijan and North Macedonia, highlighting the importance of dialogue in further enhancing the partnership.
They also discussed opportunities to deepen cooperation in the tourism industry among others.
Visa-Free Agreements with Several Other Countries
In a bid to facilitate the travel process, authorities in Azerbaijan lifted visa requirements for nationals of several other countries.
In October last year, Azerbaijan signed visa-free agreements with Indonesia for holders of diplomatic passports.
The agreement was confirmed in a meeting held between Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister, Jeyhun Bayramov, and Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi.
In July 2024, Azerbaijan and Morocco reached a visa-free travel agreement for regular passport holders.
At the same time Morocco began issuing electronic visas for Azerbaijan in January 2023, permitting them to stay for 30 days in the country within a 180 days period.