Arrr, Greek isles be welcomin' Turkish mateys with special papers to ease tensions in these waters. Hoist the sails!
2024-04-01
Arrr, ye scurvy officials on th' island o' Rhodes be offerin' a visa program fer th' Turks to sail to 10 Greek islands fer a fortnight! 'Tis a grand effort to calm th' waters betwixt our lands. Mayhaps we'll share a grog or two, aye!
In a jolly turn of events, officials on the Greek island of Rhodes have unveiled a fresh vacation visa station for Turkish visitors, aiming to mend fences between the two nations. This exclusive visa will permit Turks to gallivant around 10 Greek islands for up to a week without bothering with the whole rigmarole of applying for access to the Schengen area. NATO cohorts Greece and Turkey have embarked on a slew of schemes to shake off age-old disputes, with a focus on bolstering trade instead.Last year, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan paid a visit to Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in Athens to ink a set of bilateral pacts. The new express visa, costing 60 euros, can be nabbed at select Greek ports and includes a passport perusal and fingerprinting. However, visitors won't be able to jaunt off to other EU countries.Plans are afoot to rope in more islands into the vacation visa program, with the likes of Lesbos, Limnos, and Chios set to hop on board in June. This move comes as Turkey hopes for more lenient travel rules for its citizens visiting the EU, in exchange for its cooperation on matters like curbing illegal immigration. Tourism remains a linchpin of the Greek economy, raking in a whopping 20.5 billion euros from 32.7 million visitors last year, as per central bank data.