No More Visas For Qatar

Qatar announced a program to allow visa-free entry for citizens of 80 countries to encourage air transport and tourism amid a two-month boycott imposed on the tiny oil-rich Gulf state by its neighbors. Nationals from dozens of countries in Europe and elsewhere including India, Lebanon, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United States will now receive tourist visas on arrival to the gas-rich country which will host the soccer World Cup in 2022. “The visa exemption scheme will make Qatar the most open country in the region,” Hassan al-Ibrahim, Chief Tourism Development officer at Qatar Tourism Authority told reporters at a press conference in Doha. The new policy is meant to help Qatar which is being boycotted by several Gulf states for their alleged support of terrorism. Oil giant Saudi Arabia along with Egypt, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates imposed a boycott on the country in June and cut off all transport links with the country after accusing it of supporting terrorism and of close ties to Iran. Doha denies the charges.