LONDON: Gulf Cooperation Council member states have the most powerful passports in the Arab world, according to the latest edition of the Henley Passport Index. The UAE has the most powerful passport in the Arab world, ranked joint 12th with Cyprus out of 199 passports worldwide, according to the index, which is based on exclusive data from the International Air Transport Authority. Emiratis are able to travel to 179 out of 227 destinations visa-free. “The UAE has added an impressive 107 destinations to its visa-free score since 2013, resulting in a massive leap of 44 places in the ranking over the past 10 years from 56th to 12th position,” said Dr. Christian H. Kaelin, chairman of Henley & Partners. “This is almost double the next biggest climber, Colombia, which has enjoyed a jump of 28 places in the ranking to sit in 37th spot.” Among the GCC states, the UAE was followed by Qatar (ranked 52nd), Kuwait (joint 54th), Bahrain (joint 59th), Oman (60th) and Saudi Arabia (joint 61st). Iraq has the weakest Arab passport and the second-weakest in the world, ranked 102nd ahead only of Afghanistan. Iraqis can travel to only 29 destinations visa-free. Of the 10 weakest passports in the world, five were from Arab countries, including Syria (ranked 101), Yemen and Somalia (both ranked 99), and Palestine (98). According to Henley & Partners, the index “is considered the standard reference tool for global citizens and sovereign states when assessing where a passport ranks on the global mobility spectrum.”