Turkey, Ukraine sign passport-free travel deal to boost tourism

ANKARA

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Turkey and Ukraine have signed an agreement allowing their citizens to travel to each other’s countries with only an identity card, in a bid to boost tourism. 

The agreement was inked on March 14 during Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman’s visit to Ankara upon Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım’s invitation. 

“We have signed an agreement that will allow citizens of the two countries to be able to travel only with their identity card. This agreement can be regarded as a visa exemption,” Yıldırım said in a joint press conference with his Ukrainian counterpart in Ankara.

Turkey is seeking to increase the number of tourists from Ukraine and Russia in order to compensate any potential drop in the number of tourists from European countries.  

Several mutual agreements between the two countries were signed by Yıldırım and Groysman.

Stating that the two leaders have exchanged their opinions on further diversifying bilateral economic and commercial relations, Yıldırım said Turkey expects the visa exemption to lead to a tourist influx from Ukraine.

Commenting on the situation of Crimean Tatars, the Turkish prime minister also underlined that Ankara respects the territorial integrity of Ukraine.

“We will continue to work closely with the Ukrainian government to resolve the problems of the Crimean Tatars. In today’s talks we confirmed that our cooperation is evolving, both in the military field and in the framework of NATO,” he added.


25 years of Turkey-Ukraine relations

Ukrainian Prime Minister Groysman also praised the free trade agreement between the two countries.

“This visit takes place on the 25th anniversary of the beginning of Turkish-Ukrainian relations. The agreements we have made in this visit are intended to facilitate the mutual travel of our citizens. There will be mutual flights at regional airports, and the free trade agreement will increase trade,” Groysman said.