The United Arab Emirates (UAE) Ambassador to Ghana, H.E Khalifa Yousif Al Zaabi, has stated that the UAE passport has been ranked the most powerful in the world, enabling its citizens to enter many countries without visas.

The Ambassador made this known in a speech delivered on the occasion of the 48th National Day Celebration of the United Arab Emirates in Accra last Wednesday.

“Another highlight of this year was the remarkable progress made by UAE diplomacy in terms of the strength of the UAE passport, which now ranks the most powerful in the world, according to the global Passport Index. Hence, more visa exemptions were granted with 177 countries where UAE nationals are allowed to enter without a visa,” he revealed.

He also noted that the year 2019 has been declared as the Year of Tolerance to reinforce the fact that the UAE is a country of more than 200 different nationalities living peaceably with one another.

“Our leadership declared 2019 as the Year of Tolerance, to reinforce the fact that we are a country where more than 200 different nationalities live in an atmosphere of openness, mutual respect and coexistence based on the principle of tolerance,”

H.E Khalifa Yousif Al Zaabi then added among others that the recent visit of President Akufo-Addo to the UAE helped to further strengthen bilateral relations between the countries, adding that a number of historic agreements were reached.