The Ministry of Economic Development of Russia expects to launch a visa-free tourist exchange with India in 2024, following the example of agreements signed with China and Iran.
Deputy Minister Dmitry Vakhrukov commented on the plan during an expert panel at the Tourism Day as part of the Russia exhibition.
Russia and China launched a visa-free group tourist exchange from August 1, 2023, as part of an intergovernmental agreement. In addition, from August 1, a visa-free group tour exchange between Russia and Iran was also launched.
“There is still a lot to be done. This includes simplifying the application form for an electronic visa and expanding countries for visa-free group tourist exchange. For this year, we are setting ourselves a key indicator and a key country — India,” Vakhrukov said.
He also noted that it was necessary to expand the list of countries whose citizens can come to Russia without visas.