RIYADH: Saudi Arabia and Oman have agreed in principle to launch a unified tourist visa and a joint tourism calendar. This topic was discussed during Saudi Minister of Tourism Ahmed Al-Khateeb's recent visit to Oman in which he met with Oman’s Minister of Heritage and Tourism Salim Al-Mahrouqi.

The unified visa was among a number of joint tourism programs and initiatives discussed during the meeting and aimed at attracting international tourists, citizens and expatriates of the GCC countries, the Saudi Gazzette reported. One of the programs include a number of seasonal trips between the two countries, while another initiative focused on activating trade and investment cooperation, especially projects in the tourism sector and supporting entrepreneurs interested in tourism in the two countries.

The new unified visa initiative comes a month after GCC officials met to discuss the prospect of launching a Schengen-style visa for all GCC states.