Egypt Exempts Syrians From Visa Fees

Egypt decided on Monday to exempt Syrian visa applicants from consular fees in light of the humanitarian crisis in their unrest-torn country, official news agency MENA reported.

The decision came within the framework of the Egyptian efforts to support Syrian people seeking to flee an escalating armed conflict in their country, which started in March 2011 and has left tens of thousands of people killed.

The move followed Sunday’s meeting here between Egypt’s Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy and head of the National Coalition of Syrian Opposition and Revolutionary Forces Ahmad Jarba on the latest developments in Syrian and ways to ease tightened regulations for the entry of Syrians to Egypt.

About two weeks ago, Egypt announced new entry regulations for Syrians, which required them to get a security approval besides obtaining a visa.

The new regulations were prompted by media reports claiming that Islamist Syrians had taken part in protests backing ousted President Mohamed Morsi in Cairo and had been involved in clashes with his opponents. Xinhua