Holders of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) passports are now eligible to travel to Qatar visa-free for stays of up to 30 days, the Chief Executive of Hong Kong, John Lee, has confirmed.
During his visit to Qatar, Lee announced that the new changes will take effect immediately, VisaGuide.World reports.
While Qatari nationals were eligible to travel to Hong Kong visa-free for a stay of up to 30 days, Hong Kong passport holders were required to obtain a free visa-on-arrival at first. Following the new changes, the travel process will be easier for holders of Hong Kong passports.
Lee said that facilitating entry requirements for Hong Kong residents would make travel to Qatar more convenient than the previous visa-on-arrival agreement. According to him, the new changes will also tighten connections between the two territories.
Chief Executive of Hong Kong, John Lee, during his visit to Doha, highlighted the three major goals for his visit: strengthening government-to-government cooperation, finding new areas of cooperation, and making new friends.
During his visit to the Middle East, Lee met with the Amir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, as well as the head of state of Qatar, the Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Qatar, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani. He also met with the Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Mohammed bin Ali bin Mohammed Al Mannai.
Lee discussed with authorities in Qatar about further tightening bilateral co-operation between both countries.
Progress in Long-Term Collaboration
During his visit to Qatar, the Chief Executive of Hong Kong said that a series of agreements have been reached between both territories in various fields, among them, trade, investment, and tourism.
According to Lee, both sides are also making progress in long-term collaboration, according to the report.
Together, they will boost our trade ties and enhance our customs clearance efficiency, creating smoother, more convenient links for our companies.
During his visit to Qatar, Lee welcomed the new steps that will bring positive results for both territories.
With our investment agreement negotiations underway, Hong Kong’s network of investment agreements and comprehensive avoidance of double taxation agreements will potentially cover most of the [Gulf Cooperation Council] countries.
He said that he is looking forward to Qatari people visiting Hong Kong, emphasizing that officials have been working hard to make the SAR more Muslim-friendly.