Bush grants visa-free travel to citizens of 7 nations

WASHINGTON: US President George Bush has granted visa-free travel to the citizens of seven countries, namely Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, South Korea, Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania, to his country.

The President said that the US enjoyed "good, tight relations and co-operation" with the countries exempted.

"These close friends of America told me that it was unfair their people had to jump through bureaucratic hoops that other allies can walk around," the Daily Times quoted Bush as saying while announcing the decision.

Meanwhile, six European Union nations - Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece, Malta, Romania, and Poland - however, will remain outside the scheme, for the time being, added the paper.