Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan inaugurates UAE Consulate in Thiruvananthapuram

Getting a visa to UAE is set to become hassle-free for Indians as a new dedicated visa centre opened in New Delhi along with a Consulate General in Kerala this week. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday inaugurated a UAE Consulate in Thiruvananthapuram which will cater to the visa demand from south India. People from south India, who wish to visit the United Arab Emirates, will now get their necessary documents processed at the new mission, to be headed by Consular General Jamal Hussein Al Zabi. The UAE government decided to set up the office here as a significant majority of Indian expats in the UAE hails from Kerala. [caption id=“attachment_2988804” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday inaugrated the UAE Consulate General in Thiruvananthapuram. PTI[/caption] Currently, all those proceeding to the UAE from south India have to get their educational certificates and other documents certified by the UAE embassy in New Delhi or the consulate in Mumbai. Earlier in the week, UAE Ambassador to India, Ahmed Al Banna inaugurated the dedicated consular and a visa service centre in Vasant Kunj, New Delhi at a programme chaired by Lt Governor Najeeb Jung. The centres, which were housed in the UAE embassy earlier, will provide visa services, attestation works and all consular services for Indian nationals and citizens of the UAE who are in India. Banna batted for enhanced strategic ties with India during the event and termed the prevailing bilateral relations as “historical”. “Relationship between India and UAE is historical and quite great. Now our relationship is going to a further strategic level. “After the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi (to UAE) last August and the visit of his Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi (to New Delhi) in February this year, there has been an understanding to look into strengthening that relationship,” he said. Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan will be the Chief Guest at the Republic Day parade next year. UAE is home to around 2.6 million Indians who constitute nearly 30 percent of its population. It receives around 10,000 visa applications on a monthly basis. With inputs from agencies