Massoud Pezeshkian, who made his first visit to Iraq as Iranian president, was remembered for his interesting and controversial statements in the neighbouring country. These included issues such as expanding cooperation with Islamic countries and creating the “Islamic Schengen”.
How realistic is the creation of an “Islamic Schengen”?
“Caspian” The newspaper published an article on the subject.
According to the Iranian president, who is in favour of abolishing border controls between Islamic countries, this could help neutralise sanctions imposed by the West. The idea of an “Islamic Schengen” cannot be said to be an original idea. Before that, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also spoke about the importance of expanding cooperation between Islamic countries. He was mainly referring to military cooperation, not to the “Islamic Schengen”. What does the Iranian president mean by the Schengen zone? It should be noted that two agreements have been signed on the Schengen zone.
The first Schengen Agreement was signed on 14 June 1985 between five European countries. Together with France, West Germany, the Benelux countries, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg signed the agreement. On 19 June 1990 the agreement entered into force with the signing of the Convention on the implementation of the Schengen Agreement. The agreement is named after the city of Schengen, Luxembourg, where the borders of Luxembourg, France and Germany meet. The second agreement on the Schengen area was signed on the ship Queen Marie-Astrid in the middle of the Mos river. The Schengen area currently includes Germany, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Croatia, Spain, Sweden, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Hungary, Malta, the Netherlands, Romania, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Greece, it also includes Iceland, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Norway. The area in question is a conditional territory that provides visa-free internal circulation in a European state that has joined the treaty. No border controls are required for those travelling within the Schengen area, and travellers have the option to travel according to the single-country principle.
There are more political objectives.
The introduction of the European model of the Schengen system in the Islamic world cannot be considered accidental. It is known that Iran is under sanctions imposed by the United States and other Western countries due to its nuclear program. The bans have significantly limited Iran’s ability to export its rich hydrocarbon resources to world markets, and as a result, the country’s socio-economic situation has worsened. Today, there is a severe financial shortage in Iran. Official Tehran finds it difficult to direct investments to the implementation of even the most necessary projects. To top it off, Iran is accused of selling ballistic missiles to Russia. The United States and other Western countries have already announced new sanctions against Tehran. After the introduction of the new package of sanctions, the worsening of the economic and social situation in Iran will be inevitable. Thinking about this, Masud Pezeshkian sees the way out in expanding trade relations with Muslim countries. According to his conclusion, the creation of the Schengen zone in the Islamic world will create an opportunity for Iran and other Muslim countries to protect themselves from the consequences of Western sanctions.
However, it seems impossible for this idea to become a reality in the near future. There are a number of factors that determine this. Experts say that one important reason that makes Pezeshkia’s idea unpromising is the marked difference in the level of development and internal security issues of Muslim countries. It must be clearly stated that today Muslim countries also face internal threats. For this reason, the Schengen zone between Islamic countries does not seem realistic today. Most Muslim countries are not ready for it.
The “Arab Schengen” is already underway
Meanwhile, one of the points that reduces the chances of the Iranian president’s proposal becoming a reality is the negotiations that the Arab states have been conducting among themselves for years on the creation of a single customs zone. According to the latest information, the “Arab Schengen” – a single visa for the Gulf countries – will be implemented by the end of the year. Currently, the future parties to the agreement are consulting with major tour operators, hotels and airlines to form a common package of services for tourists. We are talking about a visa that gives the right to free movement in six countries: Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Oman.
Oksana Kolomiets, CEO of Aurora Middle East Group of Companies, says that the main advantage of introducing this type of visa is that Saudi Arabia is on the list, as this country was until recently one of the most closed in the Middle East. This visa will open up additional opportunities for Muslims in general, facilitating pilgrimages to Holy Mecca and Medina.
