ABU DHABI - The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, MoFAIC, has announced that UAE nationals can travel to the Kingdom of Tonga without the need for a pre-visa as of 24th May, and can stay for up to 60 days during each visit.

Ahmed Alham Al Dhaheri, Assistant Under-Secretary for Consular Affairs at MoFAIC, said that Emirati nationals holders of diplomatic, VIP, special mission and ordinary passports can travel to Tonga without prior visa arrangements, following a visa waiver Memorandum of Understanding signed by the governments of the two countries on 23rd April 2018, following a joint committee meeting in Abu Dhabi.

The MoU was signed by Yacoub Yousef Al Hosani, Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation for International Organisation Affairs, the Honourable 'Akau'ola, Special Envoy of the King of Tonga to the United Arab Emirates, on the sidelines of a meeting with Reem bint Ibrahim Al Hashimy, Minister of State for International Cooperation.

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation has come a long way in its diplomatic efforts to bolster the country's stature globally," Al Dhaheri said, citing the large number of MoUs signed by the ministry with different countries to facilitate UAE nationals' travel across the world and to strengthen cooperation ties with other nations in various tourist, economic and investment domains.

Al Dhaheri said that the Ministry aims to make the UAE passport among the top five most important in the world in line with the UAE's Vision 2021.

The Kingdom of Tonga consists of a group of 176 islands covering an area of seven hundred thousand square kilometres in the South Pacific, surrounded by Fiji to the northwest, Samoa to the northeast, as well as parts of New Zealand to the southwest.

Tongan and English are the country's official languages.

© Copyright Emirates News Agency (WAM) 2018.