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Abu Dhabi / WAM
Mohammed Mir Abdullah Al Raisi, Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MOFAAIC), said that ministry has developed its strategy based on the UAE’s vision, which is seeking to be one of the best countries in the world by 2021.
The Ministry seeks through its strategic goal to ensure the care for citizens abroad and provide high quality of consular services, which is done via the consular departments and branch offices. The Under-Secretary said that the tasks of the ministry are maintaining clear political stances and supporting the country’s relationship with regional and international partners, also contributing to the strategic economic policies to support and facilitate the growth of economic relations and investments of the UAE abroad.
Al Raisi pointed out that the number of representative missions of the UAE abroad totalled 102 missions, including 80 Embassies,18 Consulates and 4 Existing Missions, while the number of foreign missions accredited in the country reached 110 Embassies, 73 Consulates and 16 International Organisations, in addition to the headquarters of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) in the capital, Abu Dhabi. Al Raisi stressed the importance of registering in the Ministry’s Tawajedi services (My Whereabouts) for citizens travelling abroad, saying it will facilitate communication process between the country’s missions abroad and citizens registered for their protection in crisis and emergency situations.
He pointed out that the UAE’s passport is considered as one of the strongest passports globally, where it has ranked first among Arab and Middle Eastern countries as the UAE passport holders can visit 116 countries around the globe without a visa.
Regarding “emergency passport”, Al Raisi said that this passport is issued by the UAE’s missions abroad for those citizens who have lost their original passports outside the country and for those who lost their identity cards in the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council, GCC. The passport is also issued in place of damaged, expired passports and in evictions situation during crisis and emergencies, and in case of births outside of the country from an Emirati woman or foreign one, or as per the decision of the committee on the returning sons of the UAE citizens living abroad with their non-Emirati mothers.
He added that it is the first emergency passport in the Arab world issued with global security standards, which are compatible with the requirements and recommendations of the International Civil Aviation Organisation.
He pointed out that the UAE is the first Arab country to enjoy visa free entry to countries of Schengen region, where the UAE citizens holding diplomatic, special as well as ordinary passports will be able to travel to 34 European countries for a period of six months each year, however time of stay should not exceed 90 days per visit.