UAE tourists will be able to fly to Schengen countries without a visa following a recent decision by the European Union, which will come into effect in the coming months.

A senior European diplomat confirmed that the internal process among European countries for a visa waiver will be completed soon, a report in Gulf News said.

An agreement will be signed by both UAE and EU, setting the date for the waiver to be in place afterwards.

The EU decision will allow UAE citizens to enter 13 Schengen countries without a visa, making it the first Arab country to receive such a deal, the report said

The UAE is the EU’s 14th largest trade partner and the EU is the UAE’s second biggest trading partner. Trade between the two sides reached €55 billion ($62.3).

Moreover, there are more than 150,000 EU citizens living in the UAE, while over 1.6 million EU visitors travel to the UAE every year, it said.