ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Sudan on Saturday signed an agreement on visa-free travel for official and diplomatic passport holders, according to a statement by the Ministry of Interior.
‘Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and Sudanese Interior Minister Lt Gen Babiker Samra Mustafa Ali signed the agreement,’ the ministry said on the social media platform X.
‘Under the agreement,holders of Pakistani and Sudanese official and diplomatic passports will be able to enter each other’s countries without a visa,’ it stated.
‘Both interior ministers welcomed the visa-free entry agreement for official and diplomatic passports,’ the statement said.
‘This agreement marks an important milestone in bilateral relations between Pakistan and Sudan,’ it added.
The statement emphasised that the visa-free facility would further facilitate highlevel contacts and exchanges of delegations between Pakistan and Sudan. ‘New opportunities will emerge to promote official-level ties and mutual cooperation between the two countries,’ it said.’The agreement will further strengthen friendly relations and institutional cooper ation between Pakistan and Sudan,’ the Sudanese interior minister was quoted as saying.
Earlier on Saturday, both countries also decided to sign an MoU to enhance cooperation in combating cybercrime, the statement by the interior ministry said.
The decision was taken during delegation-level talks between interior ministers of both countries. Minister of State for Interior Tallal Chaudhry also attended the meeting.
The Sudanese interior minister said his country wanted to benefit from Pakistan’s expertise and experience incombating cybercrime, the statement said. ‘The two sides also agreed to expand cooperation in security, internal affairs, police training, institutional cooperation, Nadra and other sectors,’ it said.
Briefing the visiting minister, Mr Naqvi said that with Nadra’s cooperation, 36m citizenship cards, 9m national identity cards, 18m birth certificates and 500,000 death certificates had been issued in Sudan. He said Nadra was ready to continue cooperation in the civil registration process.
On a query by the Sudanese minister, Mr Naqvi ordered immediate resolution of visa issues faced by married Sudanese women in Pakistan, the statement said.