Tengrinews.kz – Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs is urging citizens to carefully choose the countries they travel to. This concerns destinations where elevated risks remain — from an unstable situation to a difficult epidemiological situation. First Deputy Foreign Minister Yerzhan Ashikbayev said this on the sidelines of the Senate.
Which countries are not recommended for travel
According to Ashikbayev, Kazakhstanis are currently not advised to fly to Iran and African countries.
“There is a difficult epidemiological situation in African countries. The conflict in the Middle East is well known to everyone. These are all our strong recommendations. At present, we do not recommend Iran. We do not recommend visiting a number of African countries,” he said.
The Foreign Ministry also reminded citizens that, regardless of the destination, Kazakhstanis must comply with the laws of the country they are visiting.
“Citizens of Kazakhstan must clearly understand: the laws of the host country they are traveling to are mandatory, and there can be no two opinions about this. When our citizens travel abroad, they are obliged to comply with the laws of the host country,” Ashikbayev concluded.
Which countries were already on the list
Back in March, the Foreign Ministry published recommendations to refrain from traveling to a number of Middle Eastern countries amid the unstable situation. The published list included Bahrain, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Iraq, Iran, Qatar, Kuwait, Lebanon, the UAE, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Yemen.
Later, on March 27, the Foreign Ministry announced that Egypt had been removed from the list of countries not recommended for travel. The ministry explained the decision by the current situation and the operating conditions of civilian infrastructure, including international airports and tourist areas.
On May 24, India’s Health Ministry tightened checks at major international airports and recommended that citizens avoid traveling to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda and South Sudan, where there is an Ebola outbreak.
