Indonesia plans to lift visa requirements for Russians since Jan. 1

JAKARTA, November 11. /TASS/. The government of Indonesia plans to abolish visa requirements for Russians starting from January 1, 2015, the speaker of the upper house of Indonesia’s parliament said on Tuesday. “The government of the Republic of Indonesia plans since January 1, 2015 to introduce the abolishment of visa requirements for Russian citizens visiting the territory of Indonesia,” said Irman Gusman, who chairs the Indonesia Regional Representatives Council (DPD). The lawmaker said the two countries have increased bilateral cooperation in tourism and last year some 100,000 tourists from Russia came to Indonesian resorts. The speaker of Russia’s upper house of parliament, the Federation Council, Valentina Matviyenko, who leads the Russian official delegation to Indonesia, welcomed the move. “This will no doubt encourage the growth in tourism to Indonesia as the interest for the country has been increasing over the past years,” Matviyenko stressed. Indonesia plans to launch direct flights from Moscow to Jakarta and Bali. The consultations with partners in Moscow are ongoing. Read more