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Africans are calling visa-free travel on the continent

 

 

African politicians and businessmen have called for the abolition of visas when traveling across the continent. This proposal was made during a High-Level Symposium on Advancing a Visa-Free Africa for Economic Prosperity, organized jointly by the African Development Bank Group and the African Union Commission.

 

The participants of the symposium called mobility the missing link in Africa's integration program, arguing that visa regimes restrict trade, investment flows, tourism and labor mobility.

 

Former Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, confirmed that freedom of movement is central to the African Union's long-term development agenda and called on Member States to implement initiatives such as the African Passport and the Protocol on the Free Movement of Persons.

 

Ghana’s Trade and Industry Minister, Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare, shared the experience of her country, which was one of the first to introduce an open visa policy for travelers from Africa, calling the growth of business travel, tourism and investor interest the first dividends of greater openness.

 

Mesfin Bekele, Chief Executive Officer of Ethiopian Airlines, called for the full-scale implementation of the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM), saying that air travel and visa liberalization should move forward together to ensure seamless travel.

 

The participants of the symposium came to the conclusion that in order to achieve a visa-free regime in Africa, it will be necessary to coordinate migration policies, digital identification systems and border infrastructure.

 

THE INDEPENDENT