Arab spring countries consider cancellation of visa requirement

Egypt, Tunisia and Libya, where popular uprisings ousted three dictatorial regimes last year, are considering the cancellation of visa requirement for their citizens in order to facilitate their movement across borders. Egyptian Minister of foreign affairs Mohammed Kamel Amr said on Sunday that a decision would take into consideration the security situation in each of the three countries. “The possibility of lifting visa restrictions is contingent on the security situation in the three countries” he added. Amr added that a second meeting between the foreign ministers of Tunisia, Egypt and Libya will be held later in Cairo to study issuing a declaration on cancelling visa requirements between the three countries. “The [first] meeting has discussed the urgency to stop arms smuggling from Libya to Egypt, border control and coordination between the two countries to achieve that,”Amr said during a joint press conference with his Tunisian and Libya counterpart, who met with Mohammed Mursi. The Egyptian minister added that the three countries will also address economic, political and security cooperation.” “In the end, we are one nation, not three,” he added. The Tunisian foreign minister, Rafik al-Salam, meanwhile said that the meeting between the three countries was part of the region’s search for “a new political system.