Besides removing Israel from the list, Ramli revealed that he had also ruled out the names of few countries believed to be involved in drug trafficking and spreading extreme ideology or radicalism.Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs Rizal Ramli confirmed that Israel had been dropped from the list of states proposed to receive the free visa facility from Indonesia.
"We dropped Israels name from the list as we have no diplomatic relations with the country," Ramli stated at a press conference held at his office here, Tuesday.
Ramli also clarified the news reported by several media outlets on Monday (December 21) that he had extended the visa-free facility to Israel.
The minister explained that of the 95 countries being proposed to receive this facility, he had removed the names of 11 countries from the list owing to several reasons.
Besides removing Israel from the list, Ramli revealed that he had also ruled out the names of few countries believed to be involved in drug trafficking and spreading extreme ideology or radicalism.
"The last name we crossed out was of Israel. So, of the proposed 95 countries, 11 have been removed. Thus, 84 countries are still on the list to be offered free tourist visa facility," Ramli explained.
In addition, the Indonesian authorities will also extend free visa facilities to the 84 countries.
The temporary list of countries proposed to be offered the free visa facility includes Australia, Brazil, Ukraine, Kenya, Uzbekistan, Bangladesh, Cameroon, Palestine, Honduras, Pakistan, and Mongolia.
Uruguay, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Costa Rica, Albania, Mozambique, Macedonia, El-Salvador, Zambia, Moldova, Madagascar, Georgia, Namibia, Kiribati, Armenia, Bolivia, Bhutan, Guatemala, Mauritania, and Paraguay are also among the other recipient countries.
The free visa policy is expected to boost foreign tourist arrivals in Indonesia, which is expected to reach 20 million people by 2019.(*)
Editor: Heru Purwanto
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