The European Parliament (EP) yesterday took the final step on exempting the UAE citizens from the Schengen visa by voting overwhelmingly for the resolution.

The Head of the UAE Mission to the European Union and Ambassador to Belgium, Sulaiman Hamid Al Mazrouei said 537 of 667 of the EP members voted in favour of granting a visa waiver to the UAE citizens travelling to the Schengen area countries.

"Today's vote is the final seal of approval for the full exemption of UAE citizens from Schengen visa requirement. Today, we move from the initial stage to the full implementation of this visa waiver programme," he added.

The UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and its diplomatic missions in Europe have exerted great efforts and conducted complicated discussions over the past three years to obtain a resolution from the European Commission concerning a waiver of the UAE nationals of the Schengen visa. The UAE's achievements and gains due to its openness to the world, have resulted in establishing strong strategic political, economic, trade, and cultural partnerships with most countries on different continents.

The resolution demonstrates the keenness and the unlimited support given by the UAE leadership to providing decent living standards to the UAE citizens whether inside the country or abroad. This is also evident in the resolve shown by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to have the requirement of entry visas waived for the Emiratis. The UAE is the first country in Asia and Africa to get the Schengen visa exemption for its citizens