Iran proposes to introduce visa-free regime for SCO member states

Iran's Deputy Tourism Minister Ali-Asghar Shalbafian said Iran has cancelled visa requirements for 64 per cent of SCO member countries and proposed to introduce group visas to facilitate travelling between SCO countries.

He emphasised that more than half of the world's population can visit Iran without a visa, demonstrating the tourism potential of the member countries. This is reported by Tehran Times, a partner of TV BRICS.

Deputy Minister highlighted the diversity of cultural, historical and geographical attractions within the SCO and emphasised the role of tourism in the global economy and job creation.

To develop tourism between the SCO members, Shalbafian suggested mutually cancelling visas and recommended exchanging tourism marketing data and creating a special tourism section on the SCO website.

He also suggested creating a network of tour operators in the SCO countries to manage and promote tourism exchanges backed by bilateral and multilateral agreements.