The government of Azerbaijan has lifted advance visa requirement for the citizens of the five GCC countries, as well as Japan, Malaysia, China, South Korea and Singapore.

The move took effect three months after UAE citizens were exempted from applying for advance visas to Azerbaijan in November.

The President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, approved the visa waivers for the listed countries.

Abulfas Garayev, Minister of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Azerbaijan, closely monitored the lifting of visa process.

"This is a historical milestone in our relationship with these countries. We are pleased to inform the public, travel trade companies and those planning to visit Azerbaijan that they can enter the country and enjoy the historical sites and its beautiful landscaping,” Garayev said.

Garayev said Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) has daily flights to the region along with Fly Dubai and Qatar Airways.

Garayev said the representative office of the Ministry of Culture of Tourism of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Atlantis Holidays in the GCC, is offering special packages starting for as low as Dh1,500 per person per night all inclusive; to encourage these nationals to take advantage of the visa waiver.

Rashid Al Noori, Chairman of Atlantis Holidays, said the visa waiver will facilitate "an excellent traffic flow by all categories of people among these nationals to visit Azerbaijan.”