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Ottawa, Ontario, Canada (AHN) – The United Arab Emirates ambassador to Canada said Tuesday the new UAE policy requiring Canadian tourists to secure a visa before entering the emirates is based on reciprocity, not retaliation.

Mohamed Abdulla Al Ghaffi said UAE tourists entering Canada are required to get a visa, so the new rules only level the playing field between the two nations. Canada’s Foreign Affairs Department confirmed that UAE is merely implementing a 2009 decision to pursue visa reciprocity with different nations.

But unofficial reports said the real reason behind the new visa requirement is the diplomatic row between Ottawa and Dubai over the rejection by Canada of UAE’s request for more landing rights for two UAE-owned air carriers.

The rejection led the UAE to kick out Canadian troops from Camp Mirage, which the latter had been using for a decade for free. Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon got an extension in June of the use of Camp Mirage as the entry and exit point for Canadian troops deployed to Afghanistan, but the UAE was insulted because Ottawa failed to keep with its ministerial level agreement.

The deal was to negotiate a fair deal on air access, but Ottawa wanted to limit the added landing rights to just one flight weekly, which would land in Canadian cities other than Toronto.

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