REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- The Embassy of Kazakhstan to Indonesia will provide tariff-free visa for a three-month period for Indonesians who wish to visit the country.
Kazakh Ambassador to Indonesia Orazbay Askhat said in Jakarta on Monday that the tariff exemption is being applied in regard to the '2017 Expo' international event, scheduled to be held in Astana, Kazakhstan. "The program will take place from June 10 to Sept 10," he remarked, adding that the tariff-free visa scheme will be applied during the same period.
He further stated that the 2017 Expo, themed 'Future Energy' will be the first largely international-scaled event held in Kazakhstan. The event will be a hub for many distinguished stakeholders from different countries and would serve as an opportunity for Kazakhstan to promote its tourism, he added.
Additionally, the ambassador believed that Kazakhstan is not particularly well known in Indonesia. "This is partly due to the lack of active communications and interactions during a relatively long period of 20 years," he remarked.
Indonesia's former president Soeharto had visited Kazakhstan in the 90s, when the country had just obtained its independence, followed by the next visit by former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in 2015. Till date, there are no plans from Kazakhstan's central government to fully exempt Indonesian citizens from the visa scheme, Askhat said, admitting that his embassy had proposed a recommendation to the government to soon revoke the visa obligation for Indonesian tourists who wish to visit the country.
The strict visa system in Kazakhstan is imposed due to its geographical position that is located between over-populated countries including India, Bangladesh, and China, he stated. "Indonesia is also actually considered an over-populated country from our point of view, but I am sure that Indonesia does not impose any threats on Kazakhstan due to the rather long distance between the two countries. Hence, there will not be a large influx of migrants coming in from Indonesia and so we do not consider Indonesia a risky country," he revealed.
He also stressed that the issues revolving visa scheme are mostly related to technical matters rather than political ones. Kazakhstan is known as the heart of the Eurasia region, as it is located in the middle of Central Asia and Eastern Europe.
Kazakhstan was one of the countries that had emerged after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, when it obtained its independence.
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