Israel and Britain are exploring the possibility of opening a “green travel corridor” between them, Israel’s Foreign Ministry mentioned on Tuesday, citing the success of the 2 nations’ vaccination drives.
The difficulty was mentioned at a meeting between Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi and British Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove in Jerusalem, an Israeli statement mentioned.
“We will promote, along with the UK, mutual recognition of vaccines to be able to allow tourists and business individuals from both nations to safely return to their routines,” the statement quoted Ashkenazi as saying.
Israel and Britain had made “great progress” in their vaccination campaigns, opening the “possibility of creating a green travel corridor”, the ministry mentioned.
It gave no timeline for implementing such a measure, which apparently would apply only to vaccinated travelers.
Israel mentioned last week it will begin permitting the restricted entry of vaccinated tourist groups as of May 23.
The return of foreigners after Israel had closed its borders at the outset of the pandemic in March 2020 would boost the nation’s economy, which contracted 2.5% in 2020 and battered the tourism sector.
Britain, which has the world’s fifth-worst official COVID-19 death toll, has vaccinated 32.9 million individuals with a first dose.
About 81% of Israel’s citizens or residents over 16 – the age group eligible for the Pfizer /BioNTech vaccine within the nation – have received each dose, and infections and hospitalizations are down sharply.
