Vikrant Shekhawat : Sep 11, 2021, 07:17 AM
Dubai: People from India, Pakistan, and 13 other countries who are fully vaccinated with a shot approved by the World Health Organization will be able to return to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), as per a new notification by the country's disaster management authority.The new guidelines will be applicable starting September 12, 2021.Countries from which residents can fly into the UAE include India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Namibia, Zambia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, Sierra Leone, Liberia, South Africa, Nigeria and Afghanistan.Dubai, one of the UAE's seven emirates, is due to open the Expo 2020 world fair on October 1 after a year-long delay due to the pandemic. The regional business and tourism hub is relying on the fair to give its economy a boost.The organisers had previously said they expect remaining UAE flight restrictions imposed to curb coronavirus infections to be lifted in time for Expo 2020.Approval must be sought from the UAE government to return, and various PCR tests must be taken, the UAE's National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority said on Twitter.A week ago, UAE announced to resume tourist visas for fully vaccinated travellers. The move comes as the daily number of positive cases continued to drop in the country, having gone lower than 1,000 since last week. The vaccination rate was closing on the 92 per cent mark, the highest in the world after Malta.