JEDDAH: The Director General of Passports Maj. Gen. Salim bin Muhammad Al-Bulaihid said the Kingdom has suspended the implementation of the agreement allowing travel between Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates using their national ID cards instead of passports.
"The Kingdom has taken the step because the map appearing on the ID cards of UAE citizens is not in line with the border agreement between the two countries signed on Aug. 21, 1974," Al-Bulaihid, told the Saudi Press Agency on Thursday.
The Kingdom took several steps to address the issue such as submitting official memorandum through diplomatic channels urging UAE authorities to rectify the map. The UAE authorities, however, did not respond to the Kingdom's requests.
The Kingdom also had warned the UAE that the Kingdom would be compelled to suspend permission to UAE citizens to travel to the Kingdom using their national ID cards.
The citizens of the two countries will now have to use their passports, according to the director general's statement.
