Russia Eyes Economic Boost With Visa-Free Travel Deals With China, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia

Russia is eyeing visa-free regimes with China, Saudi Arabia and Malaysia in the near future, according to a Russian state media report on Tuesday.

Citing pre-reads for a strategic session on tourism development in Russia, state media TASS reported that simplified visa regimes with “a lot of countries” have already made it possible to attract two million more tourists to Russia. The report does not specify in which time period, however.

TASS, citing unnamed research, also claims that “the number of foreigners’ trips to Russia is projected to grow from five million at present by 11 million by 2030.”

If accurate, this increase in tourism would mean a significant contribution to Russia’s ailing war economy.

The Kremlin appears to have been working towards this goal for some time. On Sept. 15, Russian nationals became eligible to visit mainland China for up to 30 days without a visa, though Chinese nationals are still required to apply for a Russian visa online.

Saudi Arabia and Russia currently both require visas for each other’s citizens. However, relations between the two countries are relatively cordial. 

Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, made an official visit to Moscow in July, during which he and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov announced that Russia is working towards waiving visa requirements for Saudi nationals.

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At a joint press conference, Lavrov praised “the Kingdom’s responsible and principled approach to the Ukrainian crisis,” as per Gulf News. 

Representatives of Saudi Arabia are also expected to be present in Moscow on Oct. 15 for the first-ever Russia-Arab Summit.

Relations between Russia and Malaysia are more fraught, in large part due to the downing of Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17 by a BUK surface-to-air missile launched from Ukraine’s Russian-occupied Donetsk region in 2014. 

The in-air destruction of the passenger plane killed nearly 300 people, including 43 Malaysian nationals. 

A UN report released in May this year held Russia responsible for the deaths, but the Kremlin has continued to deny any involvement.

Also in May, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim made a state visit to Moscow. As per Reuters, Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed his condolences to the prime minister and told him that Russia would cooperate fully with a new, less “politicized” investigation into the causes of the disaster.