Jakarta (Indonesia Window) - The economic minister of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Sultan Al-Mansoori announced that coordination is underway between his country and Saudi Arabia to issue a joint visa.

With the new visa which is expected to come into force in 2020, visitors can visit the UAE and Saudi Arabia with one visa, the Saudi Gazette reported as quoted by Indonesia Window here on Sunday.

"This initiative aims to take advantage of the great potential and big steps taken by Saudi Arabia to facilitate the entry of tourists into the kingdom," the Al-Eqtisadiah newspaper reported.

Mansoori said this was one of the initiatives that had been developed and approved by the relevant authorities.

"Officials from the UAE and Saudi Arabia are currently holding a joint meeting to draft regulations to implement this initiative," he said.

He added that this initiative would contribute to an increase in the volume of aviation services between the two countries. "The number of flights at this time is not enough and we need to double it," he said.

According to Al-Mansoori, the implementation of this initiative will benefit national companies in the UAE and Saudi Arabia and will provide a stronger impetus for cooperation and coordination between them, and will revitalize the tourism sector including airport and hotel services.

Reporting by Indonesia Window