Yemen’s government to meet Egyptian ambassador after Cairo changes entry requirements
SMA NEWS – CAIRO
Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) head Rashad Al Alimi is expected to meet Egypt’s ambassador to Yemen Ahmad Farouq on Sunday to discuss changes to entry requirements to the country from Yemen.
The proposed meeting comes after some Yemenis said they had been turned back from entering Egypt, having not been informed of a last-minute change to entry requirements.
Yemenis say their Foreign Minister Ahmad bin Mubarak caused Egypt to tighten rules against travellers, after 80 passengers were turned back for not meeting new entry requirements at the weekend.
The measures mandate that a medical report is issued from Egypt and not only from Yemen, making it more difficult for Yemenis seeking treatment in Cairo to enter the country. The rules also shorten visit visa stays from six months to three.
Mr Farouq said the new rules did not target Yemenis specifically but “include several nationalities”.
Yemen’s Deputy Human Rights Minister Majed Fadhil said there was “close co-ordination between the Egyptian and Yemeni foreign ministers”.
However, the passengers had only learnt of the rules upon their arrival to Cairo, as suggested in videos and heard in voice clips recorded by travellers after they had landed.
Mr bin Mubarak stirred online anger following the new measures and subsequent refusal by Egyptian authorities to allow people to enter the country, drawing a response from Southern Transitional Council, “What happened in Cairo airport to Yemeni passengers … is the responsibility of the Foreign Minister and the PLC has to remove him,” Hani bin Breik, deputy head of the STC wrote on Twitter following the incident.
