The Qatari cabinet has accepted a draft deal allowing holders of diplomatic and special passports to travel freely between Qatar and Jordan, according to the Gulf state’s news agency.
Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz Al-Thani, Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior, presided over the cabinet’s regular meeting at the Amiri Diwan on Wednesday.
Traveling to Jordan with a Qatari passport currently requires a visa, which can be obtained for free on arrival.
Jordanians who wish to visit Doha for leisure must apply for a tourist visa through Qatar’s visa agency and pay a charge of 100 QAR.
While no other details about the draft agreement have been released, the action would facilitate travel between the two countries as authorities try to strengthen ties.
In Doha, there are at least 60,000 Jordanians employed in diverse fields including health, education, banking, hospitality, and information technology.
Despite the fact that Qatar and Jordan have had solid bilateral relations since 1972, Amman and Doha have taken steps in recent months to strengthen their ties.
During his visit to Amman last year, Qatar’s Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani vowed to give 10,000 employment for Jordanians. The Qatari leader also promised to contribute $30 million to the Jordanian military pension fund.
Qatari investments in Jordan have surpassed $4.5 billion in all sectors since the beginning of the year, including $550 million in the private sector.
Jordan’s King Abdullah II met with Qatari Defense Minister Khalid bin Mohammed Al-Attiyah in 2019 to sign bilateral cooperation agreements between the military forces of Doha and Amman.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, Qatar’s foreign minister, was also in Amman in August, meeting with King Abdullah II and Jordan’s foreign minister, Ayman al-Safadi.
