NEW DELHI (TIP): Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin on Thursday said that India would relax tourist visa norms for Bangladeshi nationals below 13 and above 65 years of age. He also said that India is still working on the issue of visa on arrival and has not yet arrived on a holistic policy to approach the entire issue. “There is no proposal for visa free entry of Bangladesh nationals to India.

The issue of visa on arrival is something that we in India are working through in the sense that we are in some way apart of coming towards a final holistic policy on how we will approach this entire issue; who will be eligible, under what circumstances and for what duration,” said Akbaruddin. He further said that the present visa regime provides for one year multiple entry tourist visas. “At this stage as far as visa on arrival is concerned India as a general approach to this issue is still somewhere away in taking the decision.

As and when we take a decision on these things surely we will consider various countries and Bangladesh as a friendly neighbor this issue will be considered also Bangladesh along with other countries. At this stage we are not there yet,” he added. Earlier today External Affairs Minister (EAM) Sushma Swaraj had visited Dhaka upon the invitation of her Bangladeshi counterpart Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali. She had also met Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and handed her a personal letter from Prime Minister Narendra Modi stating invitation to come to India, and also to chart the way ahead for bilateral relations.