Kazakhstan to expand visa-free travel program

PanARMENIAN.Net - Kazakhstan said on Wednesday, July 15, that it would expand a visa-free travel program to 19 countries and principalities for visitors staying up to 15 days, after the success of a pilot project, the New York Times reports.

The former Soviet republic in Central Asia, bordered by Russia and China, among others, said the new rules would eliminate visa requirements for travelers from Australia, Belgium, Britain, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Monaco, the Netherlands, Norway, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates and the United States.

The new policy will remain in effect until at least the end of 2017.

Kazakhstan’s economy has struggled in recent months, hampered by a recession in Russia, which has been grappling with lower oil prices and international economic sanctions related to President Vladimir Putin’s policies in Ukraine.

“As a rapidly growing economy and a place of great natural beauty,” Kazakhstan’s minister of internal affairs, Kalmukhanbet Kassymov, said in a statement, “Kazakhstan has a lot to offer to both tourists and business travelers, and we are delighted to welcome them.”