HONG KONG, Jan. 25 (Xinhua) -- The Immigration Department of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region(HKSAR) government announced here on Thursday that with effect from Feb. 13, 2018, HKSAR passport holders may visit Belarus visa-free for a stay of up to 14 days.

Likewise, national passport holders of Belarus will also enjoy 14 days' visa-free access to Hong Kong.

The HKSAR government and the Government of Belarus had earlier reached a consensus on the mutual visa-free access arrangement. Confirmation has recently been received from the authorities of Belarus that they had completed the internal procedures necessary for the mutual visa-free arrangement to come into force.

An Immigration Department spokesman said that Belarus is along the Belt and Road. Under the Belt and Road Initiative, this mutual visa-free arrangement would bring greater travel convenience to the travelers of Hong Kong and Belarus and strengthen the tourism, cultural and economic ties between the two places.

Including Belarus, 160 countries and territories have granted visa-free access or visa-on-arrival to HKSAR passport holders.