Iran waives visa requirements for Indian citizens, 32 other nations

After Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Vietnam waived visa requirements for Indians, Iran too decided to unilaterally cancel visa requirements for visitors from the country.Addressing reporters after a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, Iranian Minister of Cultural Heritage, Tourism, and Handicrafts Ezzatollah Zarghami said that apart from India, Iran has also decided to waive visa requirements for 32 other countries.Zarghami said the decision is aimed at boosting tourism arrivals and attracting more visitors from countries around the world.He said efforts to boost tourism can neutralize Iranophobia campaigns.India has one of the fastest growing market for Outbound Tourism India with a recent McKinsey analysis showing 13 million outbound Indian tourists in 2022.The 33 countries approved for Iran's new visa-waiver program are as follows:India, Russian, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Lebanon, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Tunisia, Mauritania, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Mauritius, Seychelles, Indonesia, Darussalam, Japan, Singapore, Cambodia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Brazil, Peru, Cuba, Mexico, Venezuela, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Croatia and Belarus.Earlier, Iran had visa waiver programs for visitors from Turkiye, Republic of Azerbaijan, Oman, China, Armenia, Lebanon and Syria.According to the latest statistics, the number of foreign arrivals in Iran reached 4.4 million during the first eight months of the current Iranian year (started on March 21), an increase of 48.5 per cent compared to the same period last year.With inputs from agencies