UAE continues to welcome Saudi ID card holders

UAE president Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan has issued a directive to allow Saudi nationals to continue to enter the emirates using only their ID cards, despite recent restrictions imposed by Saudi authorities.

Saudi Arabia announced on Friday it had suspended a travel agreement with the UAE which allowed Emiratis to use their ID cards instead of a passport.

But Lt General Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, deputy prime Minister and Interior Minister, said in comments published by news agency WAM that Sheikh Khalifa's decision stemmed from his keenness to enhance the march of the Gulf Cooperation Council.

"The decision of His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan also signifies the country's adherence to the achievements made by the Council during the past few years in facilitating travel of GCC citizens within the member countries, using the identity cards, in a way that maintains the common interests and strengthens economic and social ties between them," he added,

"The UAE will continue to implement of agreement made in Saudi Arabia, regardless of the decision made by the Saudi authorities to bar UAE citizens from traveling to the Kingdom with their ID cards," he said.

On Wednesday, it was reported that Saudi Arabia had temporarily relaxed rules requiring passports to be shown by all UAE nationals crossing the border to allow those stranded to return home.

The UAE Embassy in Saudi Arabia has so far issued 18 permits for stranded Emiratis, caught off-guard by the ruling, Gulf News reported.

Al Asri Saeed Al Dhaheri, the UAE Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, told the paper he expected the number of special permits to increase to 100.

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