The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 11, 2018
The Week In News
Japanese Passport Most Powerful
nonetheless fallen from 46th to 47 thplace due to movements higher up the ranking. The same is true of China: Chinese nationals obtained access to two new jurisdictions (St. Lucia and Myanmar), but the Chinese passport fell two places, to 71st overall. “The travel freedom that comes with a second passport is significant, while the economic and societal value that CBI programs generate for host countries can be transformative,” says Dr. Christian H. Kälin, Group Chairman of Henley & Partners.
Russia and India Close Arms Deal If you have a Japanese passport, you’re going places. According to the 2018 Henley Passport Index, Japan now enjoys visa-free/visa-on-arrival access to 190 destinations, the most of any other country. Singapore held the top spot a few months ago but now that Japan gained visa-free access to Myanmar this month Singapore dropped to the second place on the list. Germany, South Korea and France hold the third slot; their nationals enjoy visa-free access to 188 countries. France moved up a place last Friday when it gained visa-free access to Uzbekistan. Iraq and Afghanistan continues to sit at the bottom (106th) of the Henley Passport Index — based on exclusive data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA). The U.S. and the U.K., both with 186 destinations, slid down yet another spot – from 4th to 5th place – with neither having gained access to any new jurisdictions since the start of 2018. With stagnant outbound visa activity compared to Asian high-performers, it seems unlikely they will regain the number 1 spot they jointly held in 2015 any time soon. In general, the UAE has made the most remarkable ascent on the Henley Passport Index, from 62nd place in 2006 to 21st place worldwide currently. Looking ahead, the most dramatic climb might come from Kosovo, which officially met all the criteria for visa-liberalization with the EU in July and is now in discussions with the European Council. Russia received a boost in September when Taiwan announced a visa-waiver, but the country has
India has agreed to buy S-400 surface-to-air missile systems from Russia. The deal was signed during President Vladimir Putin’s visit to New Delhi for his annual summit with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. New Delhi signed the arms deal despite warnings from the United States that such a deal may lead to sanctions under U.S. law. The contract, which is estimated to be worth more than $5 billion, gives the Indian government the ability to shoot down aircraft and missiles at an unprecedented range. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that the “deal was signed on the fringes of the summit.” The United States has said that countries that trade with Russian intelligence and defense sectors would face automatic sanctions under the sweeping legislation known as the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA). State Department spokespersons have said that the sanctions act is meant to be for countries that acquire weapons systems such as the S-400 missile batteries. Last month, America imposed sanctions on China for their purchase of combat fighters and the S-400 missile system from Russia. Experts say that India is hoping that the sanctions will be waived as they are to be seen as a deterrent against China’s bigger and superior military.
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