Abu Dhabi – The United Arab Emirates and Russia have signed an agreement, scrapping pre-entry visa requirements.
Meanwhile, the UAE passport made a major jump, entering the club of the 10 most powerful passport in the world.
The agreement with Russia brings the number of countries which allow Emirati citizens to enter their territories visa-free to 155, according to the Arton Capital Passport Index.
Singapore tops the club member with a visa-free score of 166, followed by Germany with a score of 164. The third slot is shared by as many as 12 countries, including US, South Korea, Italy and France. UAE shares its 10th spot with Cyprus.
Over 750,000 Russians visited the UAE last year, contributing a total of $2.3 billion to the UAE economy.
In 2017, the UAE announced an ambition to position the country's passport on the list of the five most powerful passports in the world by 2021.
At the time of the announcement, the UAE passport held a visa-free score of 132.