Al Mukalla: The Yemeni government is attempting to persuade the Egyptian government to remove new restrictions that prevent Yemenis from visiting Egypt.
A medical certificate from an Egyptian hospital was required to enter Egypt, so nearly 60 Yemeni tourists who arrived in Cairo on Sunday were denied entry and were forced to fly back to Aden, Yemen.
Yemenis flying with Yemenia from Yemen to Cairo International Airport are required to have a medical report from a Yemeni medical facility approved by Yemen's Health Ministry. Upon arrival at Cairo International Airport, each traveller is given a visa.
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But over the weekend, Egyptian authorities changed the requirement, requiring Yemeni travellers to obtain a legitimate medical report from an Egyptian hospital in order to enter the nation.
Videos posted on social media showed a large number of men, women, and children—including sick people—stranded at the Cairo airport with their bags.
Officials from Yemenia claimed that after Yemenia flight 601 departed from Aden airport for Cairo, Egyptian authorities informed the airline of the new rules.
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A second group of Yemenis is said to have been left stranded at Cairo International Airport on Monday because they were unable to present verified copies of the medical records they received from Egyptian hospitals.
Travel agencies in Yemen claimed they had to put off some of their arrangements with customs in order to pay $45 for an Egyptian medical report. Less than $20 will get you a comparable report from a facility in Yemen.
The Egyptians claimed that a variety of countries were included in their most recent entry or residency restrictions.
Ahmed Farouq, the Egyptian ambassador to Yemen, stated that the regulations did not only apply to Yemenis and extended to people of other nationalities during a meeting with Rashad Al-Alimi, the head of Yemen's Presidential Leadership Council, on Sunday in Riyadh.
In response to mounting public pressure to find a swift solution, a Yemeni government official told Arab News that Yemen's president would dispatch a special envoy to Egypt to speak with Egyptian authorities about the new restrictions.
Hundreds of Yemenis travel to Egypt each month for medical care, education, or living expenses due to the country's lax travel regulations and the collapse of its healthcare system at home.
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Egypt has been urged to continue supporting Yemenis by removing the rules by Yemeni officials and the general public.
Yemen's Minister of Information Muammar Al-Eryani thanked Egypt for supporting Yemen during the war and urged it to continue helping Yemenis who have immigrated to Egypt and those who have been living abroad.